


Of Monsters and Heroes and Men

by broadlicnic



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst and Humor, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-20
Updated: 2011-07-20
Packaged: 2017-10-21 14:26:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadlicnic/pseuds/broadlicnic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid discovers that train-crashes don't kill vampires. The hard way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a vampire AU inspired by newssodark. It began life and a cracky one-shot and grew into this, a very long, serious post-train au playing with both the vampire myth and the history and relationships in the show.

Reid is weak, weaker than he’s been in almost a year. Weaker than the last time he fed, the day before he came to Oakdale. Convinced that this Mr. Snyder knew his secret, he fed once more, for old time’s sake. Reid knows now that the one thing that made him resist Luke for so long wasn’t Noah. He couldn’t separate the image of Luke Snyder from the guilt of that boy whose name he never knew.

This is a different weakness, a physical one. Because mentally, this is the strongest Reid has ever been. He’s going to tell Luke. He’s going to tell the whole of Oakdale. And he doesn’t care if they think he’s a monster. Especially if the alternative is losing Luke forever.

He feels a small twinge of guilt as his teeth tear into another blood pack. This blood could be keeping Chris alive. Reid wonders how that’s going. As Luke snuck him down here, confused and ecstatic, he heard John Dixon gasp "No donor heart?" and hated himself for his failure.

He stands in front of the mirror, naked and red. Luke brought him down here in the sheet from his hospital bed, and while the wounds are already beginning to close and the bruises starting to heal, his body is still an unsightly mess: splashes of red against his pale skin where the blood he is drinking congeals with the blood he was losing. But he has a certain glow about him now. His eye sockets are less shadowed and gaunt, the pain less intense.

He washes the blood away in the sink, and peels away his bandages. He’s amazed none of his bones are broken, or if they are, that he can’t feel it. Someone has left a pair of scrubs on a chair in the corner of the room. Reid slips them on like a second skin. He splashes more water on his face, and then he feels something hard in the pocket. He reaches in and pulls out an ID badge.

 **Dr. Christopher Hughes  
Paediatrician**

The blood feels heavy in Reid’s stomach, and he slides the badge back into the pocket. He steadies his hand on the doorknob, and takes a deep breath he doesn’t need, before stepping outside.

The short distance down the corridor towards the Hughes family is the longest walk of Reid’s second life. Luke is stood with Casey and Alison, who are trying to comfort him fruitlessly. Because Luke doesn’t need it. He lights up when he sees Reid striding towards them, but Reid holds up his hand to halt him. He’ll have plenty of time for Luke. He only has a matter of hours for this.

To Alison’s left, Margo and Tom haven’t noticed him yet. Tom is staring dejectedly at his phone, Margo’s hand on his shoulder, and Reid takes this to mean that the heart isn’t coming. Behind them, Henry and Barbara stand up from their seats, mouths agape, and Margo and Tom turn to follow their line of sight. Kim is clutching onto Bob’s arm as if her life depends on it. John Dixon just stares at him like he is a puzzle.

Katie isn’t there. She must be with Chris. That makes things easier.

"I know you have questions," Reid says by way of greeting to Bob and Kim, "but they can wait. I need to speak with you and Katie, in Chris’ room. Nobody else."

Bob nods, probably because he feels incapable of anything else, and as they enter Chris’ room, he senses Luke shift behind him. He turns, the biggest "I love you" he can sincerely express in his eyes.

"Later Luke, I promise."

=====

Katie rushes to Reid as he steps through the door.

"Oh my God, Reid!" she gasps, touching the ugly wound on his head. "What happened?"

"I got into an accident on my way to Bay City," he says vaguely. "I’m okay."

"I take it that was my last shot?" Chris says. Reid knows he doesn’t expect a reply. "Well, thanks for trying."

"We do have another option," Reid says to Bob, because he thinks it’s starting to dawn on the man what he actually is. "I’ll explain everything to Chris, he can make his own choice from there. But know that I’m willing to support him through this."

Bob looks apprehensive, while Kim and Katie both look confused.

"If I can handle it, then so can Chris," Reid tells him. "But we have to be alone."

Bob wordlessly leads Kim and Katie from the room, and Reid will never erase that strange mix of horror, understanding and hope etched on Bob’s face from his mind for the rest of his life.

He turns back to Chris, and sits beside him.

"You know what I am."

"And you only cheated me out of the grant because I found out," Chris replies. "You would have won it anyway."

"I was a moody kid," Reid says.

"Except you weren’t a kid at all, were you?"

"Chris," Reid says with a sigh. "You know about me. You know the struggle, the temptation, the guilt. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.” Chris nods at him to continue. "But I promised I would not let you die. So the offer is there."

They’re silent for five minutes, and Reid can hear Casey’s unmistakable heavy-footed pace outside the door. He becomes irrationally angry with Casey, because he wants to attune his hearing to pick up the sound of every breath Luke takes on the other side of that wall.

Eventually, Chris speaks. "I don’t want to hurt Katie. How could I love her?"

"Do you doubt that I love Luke?" Reid asks him, and it suddenly hits him that he’s having this conversation with Chris Hughes. The amount of times he’s dreamt of sucking every last drop from his body...Luke really has changed him.

"Does Luke know?"

"Not yet, but he will soon."

"Katie can’t know," Chris insists. "About you or this. I don’t want to hurt her."

"Listen, Chris," Reid says, and he takes Chris’ hand in his, turning his wrist so his veins are exposed. "I’m not going to influence your decision, but Katie’s going to get hurt either way. All you have to decide is whether it’d hurt her more for you to die, or for you to become like me."

=====

John Dixon enters the room before they finish. Chris is sucking hungrily at Reid’s wrist, oblivious to everything.

"I knew it, the moment I saw you brought in by the EMTs. No human could have survived that crash. I’ve treated your kind before."

Reid says nothing.

"I was married to Lucinda Walsh. For all intents and purposes, Luke is my grandson," John says. Reid is all too aware of the slurping sounds of Chris’ feeding punctuating his words. "I recognise that you’re a good man, and you love him. I also know that he trusts you with his life, and how dangerous a promise that is."

"I won’t harm him," Reid promises, and it’s the most sincere thing he has ever said.

"I believe you, but what about him?" John gestures to Chris. "The young ones are the most difficult to control. If he does anything to Katie..."

"He won’t," Reid insists. "I’ll look after him. And Katie will always have my protection."

"In that case," John says, preparing to leave, "I’m glad you did this. It hurts to lose one, you know this. And for a while, I thought we were going to lose two."

Reid smiles a genuine smile at John, as Chris settles down, full and sated.

"Keep him safe," John says. Reid nods, helping Chris slip into his hibernation as the changes take place.

"I meant my grandson."

=====

When Reid leaves the room, the first thing he does is address Bob Hughes.

"Nobody is allowed in that room except myself and Dr. Dixon for the next two days, do you understand?"

Kim looks shocked, offended even, but Bob raises a hand to silence her before she starts. "John has explained the situation." Bob places his hand on Reid's shoulder. "Confidentially, to me. The rest is up to you."

Margo Hughes is coming towards him. Behind her, he can hear Casey asking Alison to wake him up, and Henry is scowling at him.

Katie takes his hand before Margo can start asking questions. "Is Chris going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine," he smiles at her. He wipes a tear from her cheek. "But you can't see him for a while. Will you be okay?"

Katie is nodding, and beaming that smile of hers, when Margo asks the question. "How are you here?"

Reid looks around. Luke's not here. Luke needs to know first.

"I saw you," Margo continues. "I saw them cutting you from the wreckage."

"Wreckage?" Katie asks. "What wreckage? That accident?"

"You were dying. There was nothing we could do," Margo says, and Katie drops Reid's hand in shock. Margo lays her unsteady hand on Reid's chest, and Reid knows she can feel the cold. "How?"

Luke rounds the corner, coffee in hand, and Reid breaks away from Margo's touch. Luke hands the coffee to Barbara, and Reid's hands are in his hair, on his shoulders, his neck, his chest. Luke's smiling as he twists his fingers in Reid's hair, mindful of the injuries Reid can barely feel anymore. They kiss, and Luke's tongue is in his mouth and Reid is worried that Luke can taste Chris' blood on him, but Luke is moaning and his eyes are closed and Reid can feel his eyelashes brushing his cheek, and the dampness on his skin. Because even if he was okay, even if Luke was happy, for a brief moment he was still watching Reid die, and Reid knows how scared he must have been. Because he'd seen that look on the face of every person he drank from. He needed to start being more careful. Luke could never look like that again.

He breaks away and holds Luke's hands in his. He cranes his head back to Margo and Katie, and then to John and Bob.

"I have to talk to him first. You understand."

"Come along, everyone," John says, taking control of the situation. "There's nothing we can do for Chris yet. Let's head down to the cafeteria."

Reid tugs on Luke's wrist. "Come with me."

=====

By the time they reach Luke's car, the scabs are already flaking away, exposing fresh, smooth, pale skin beneath. Luke has been smiling all the way to the parking lot, holding Reid's hand up to his mouth and kissing it. It's a gesture Reid would usually be all-too uncomfortable with, but over the years, the warmth of the blood in his belly made him feel much more affectionate. This was the first time he'd fed from something fresh since arriving in Oakdale. That explained a lot.

Luke freezes at the sight of his car, and his smile disappears. Reid settles himself behind Luke, wrapping his arms around Luke's waist from behind and resting his chin on Luke's shoulder. Since feeding from Chris, he's hyper-aware of Luke's scent. He's entranced by it, but the craving is for Luke's touch, his kiss, and not his blood.

"What's wrong?" Reid asks, and he kisses the shell of Luke's ear.

"The car," Luke whispers, and he's frozen in place.

Reid tightens his grasp around Luke's waist. "What about it?"

"A train smashed into your car," Luke says, unmoving. "I saw you. You were dying."

"Luke, let's just get back to my place," Reid insists. "I can explain everything."

"I can't," Luke says. "I can't get in a car with you. What if I lose you this time?"

"You won't."

"How are you here?" Luke asks, and he grips Reid's arms with his own, fingernails digging crescent moon shapes into his healing skin, the pressure making the cut on his wrist from Chris' siring leak a few stray drops of blood.

He can't say it. Reid has come this far and the words are stuck in his throat. This wasn't how Luke was supposed to find out. Even after the accident, Reid wanted to lay Luke down, settle in beside him, and make him feel as safe as he possibly could as Reid explained. He shouldn't be telling him in a hospital parking lot, with Luke trembling and confused in his arms, and not even looking at him. Reid should stand to face him, but Luke's eyes won't tear away from the car, and this is too much. Why wasn't he more careful? Why did Luke have to see him like _that_?

He pulls Luke impossibly close. He can feel Luke's heart beating through his back against his chest. His crotch is nestled in the curve of Luke's ass, but for once, he doesn't pay attention. All that matters to him is keeping Luke calm. Keeping Luke safe. Making sure he understands.

He still can't find the words. He takes one of Luke's hands, and guides it up to his neck. He brushes Luke's fingers against the two small, circular scars there, and shudders. They're still sensitive after all these years. Luke is still facing away from him, but Reid can see him in the reflection of the car window. His eyes are closed, and his hand massages the skin of Reid's neck. Reid breathes him in deeply, and stretches his neck, allowing Luke more room to explore. Luke is still touching the scars minutes later, and Reid feels his nerve-endings crackling at his touch. He wants Luke, there and then, and he's willing himself not to get hard, because Luke has to have all the control here. Luke has to understand.

"Are you scared?" Reid asks him.

Luke's eyes snap open. His gaze meets Reid's in the car window.

"No."


	2. Chapter 2

No two mythologies are the same. Some say that Reid's kind can't stand in the sunlight. Some say they have an aversion to garlic. Some sparkle.

Reid can walk in the sunlight, but not for long. His skin is too sensitive; his eyes begin to sting. It's for this reason he wears long-sleeved shirts and works at a hospital. Reid loves garlic. He does not sparkle.

Reid doesn't need to breathe, but he does it anyway. Sometimes to hide the truth, sometimes out of habit. The same goes for his heart. It beats in his chest, but not out of any necessity. Every day he wakes and forces the blood to pump around his body. He feels it pounding against his ribcage. He makes it happen because otherwise he doesn't make sense.

Some are killed by a stake to the heart. Some must be decapitated. In folklore, some had the teeth smashed out of their skull, and were buried face down with a mouth full of stones. Reid knows one thing for certain: trains can't kill him.

He walks back to the hospital in silence, Luke at his side. Luke isn't looking at him, isn't speaking, but he can't let go. Reid steps slowly, with Luke curled into his side, head tucked under his chin. His hair brushes the oldest scars on his neck, while Luke's thumb traces the newest cut from which Chris drank. Reid guides him through the labyrinth of stark, white corridors, pulling him into his chest as they pass the ER. Nurses stop to stare at them. They can't have heard about the train crash yet, Bob and John would have seen to that. A few look at him in confusion, one in disgust, and Gretchen offers him a watery smile. He thinks about shooting her a glare, because he's still Dr. Oliver, damnit, when he feels a wetness seep through his scrubs.

"Luke?" he asks softly, and they stop. He presses the pads of his fingers on the underside of Luke's chin, and tilts his head up. Luke is looking somewhere to the left of Reid's ear. "Luke?" he tries again.

"Yeah?"

"You're crying," Reid says, and Luke takes a step back. He wipes at his eyes, and looks down at his hands as if he'd never seen tears before.

"I'm crying," Luke says in disbelief. "Why am I crying?"

"You tell me," Reid can't help himself any longer. He takes one of Luke's hands and lifts it to his lips. His tongue darts out, and laps at Luke's palm, and he's so lost in the salt and the taste of Luke's skin and the low, guttural moan coming from Luke's throat that he barely hears Gretchen's whimper.

Luke's places his other hand on Reid's hip. He squeezes just above Reid's pelvis, and his hand pauses at Reid's chest, feeling for a heartbeat that's there but is too faint to trace. His eyes are transfixed on Reid's tongue, and Reid tries to catch his eye but he turns away.

"I'm happy," Luke says, but he doesn't sound like he believes it.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

Luke's eyes flick to his and time stops. Reid can hear Luke's shuddery breath echo around this subspace they have fallen into, and it rings in his head, shakes his ear drums and sparks off every synapse in his magnificent brain. Luke's lips are slightly parted, and Reid can see that they're swollen and glistening already, begging to be kissed.

Luke moves first, hurling Reid against the wall so hard that the back of his head smashes off the plaster. Reid steadies himself with his hands on Luke's waist, and Luke takes that as an invitation. His teeth bite down on Reid's healed bottom lip, and tug. Reid lets his mouth fall open, and Luke's tongue is inside; exploring, running along his teeth as if in search of Reid's fangs. Reid's arms travel up Luke's back and fist in his shirt. Reid pulls at the green material and Luke backs away. Reid finds Luke's eyes again and his irises has almost completely been consumed by wide, dark pupils. Luke's biting his lip, and he shifts his hips against Reid's to create friction against the thin scrubs. Reid growls, deep and rough, and their mouths smash together again.

Reid grabs Luke's thigh and lifts it to hook around his waist. He thrusts against the denim of Luke's jeans and Luke stumbles, taking Reid with him, and falls back against the nurse's station. Gretchen and the others scatter, and charts clatter to the floor. Reid bends Luke back over the counter, sucking on Luke's tongue desperately, and Luke's hands are travelling up underneath Reid's scrubs to rest on his abdomen. Reid gives Luke's hair a sharp jerk, exposing his throat. Reid licks a path up Luke's neck, his tongue gently teasing Luke's quivering Adam's apple, and Luke's mouth falls open as he gasps.

"Dr. Oliver," comes John Dixon's voice, but Reid is too lost in kissing away the beads of sweat pooling in Luke's collarbone. Luke himself barely notices his former grand-father, preoccupied by the small, circular rotation of Reid's pelvis against his. Luke drops his head, and nudges Reid's away, attaching his mouth to the scars on Reid's neck, and Reid feels like he could explode at any moment.

"Oh, hello Lucinda!" says John Dixon, and Reid is pushed away so hard and so fast that, for a moment, he's convinced that Luke is the one who is superhuman.

"Sorry to interrupt," John continues, his eyes wide and mouth pulled tight in amusement. "Dr. Oliver, if you could halt performing degrading acts with my Luke in public for a moment, you're needed."

"Can't they wait?" Reid sighs, trying to think of any way to hide his erection in scrubs. He chooses Luke's body, and allows Luke to curl into him yet again. Luke's hand traces over Reid's chest, brushing against Chris' ID badge in his pocket.

"The Hughes family are still waiting for an explanation, and I think you should check on Chris."

Reid presses a light kiss to Luke's hair and gently nudges him forward. "Tell them we'll be there in a minute."

Luke blinks, a little dazed at the loss of contact, and Reid reaches out to brush a hand through his hair. "I'll be right there."

Luke nods, and staggers a little down the hallway. John wordlessly holds out a lab coat to Reid, who slips it on and fastens it, offering his raging hard on some shelter.

"I told you to take care of him."

"And I am," Reid insists.

"Did you tell him?" John asks.

"Yeah," Reid says. "He's still in shock, but he's okay."

John raises an eyebrow. "You don't think he's behaving a bit..."

Reid waits, tapping his foot. Eventually, he snaps, glaring at John. "You think I've enthralled him."

"Probably not intentionally," John rushes out, "but the symptoms are there."

"With all due respect, Dr. Dixon, the symptoms of enthralling are exactly the same as the symptoms of being in love. And when the person you love almost dies, you're allowed to OD on the PDAs."

John is smirking at him now, and Reid shrugs his shoulders aggressively, urging him to just come out with it.

"I've heard a lot of stories about you, Reid," John says. "I never thought I'd hear you talk about love."

"Well, I'm full of surprises today."

John gestures down the hallway, the way Luke has just gone. "Ready to reveal another?"

"Wait," Reid orders, and John pauses. "I only want to tell the people who need to know. I assume Bob already knows, so the hospital's covered. I'll need to talk to Margo and Tom, but I want the rest of them out of there. Especially Katie."

"Are you sure about this?" John asks. "They all want to know how you survived."

"Well take the others away and make up some excuse," Reid demands. "Maybe the train only clipped my car, and the injuries were from me crashing into a barrier. Maybe Margo overestimated the extent of the damage. She's not a qualified doctor, after all. She's barely even a detective."

John chuckles a little at that. "There's the Dr. Oliver I heard about!"

"Just make sure Katie doesn't know," Reid says. "It was Chris' condition."

"Well, I'm not happy with this," John begins, "but I will take Katie and Casey to get coffee and tell them something. Henry and Barbara have left already."

"Great," Reid says, and makes a start to get back to Luke. John raises his hand to halt him.

"But you have to tell Alison Stewart."

"Why?"

"You work at a hospital, Reid," John says. "You perform life or death surgeries. And while Bob trusts you implicitly, there is still always a risk. Neither of us are happy with you leading an operating team who have no idea of any potential dangers."

"This is ridiculous."

"Alison is trustworthy, and an excellent nurse. She will be an asset to your team. Bob just wants another pair of eyes in the surgery, so we're aware of anything we can change to help you work."

Reid rolls his eyes. "If I agree, will you let me get back to Luke?"

"After you talk to them and check on Chris, yes."

Reid thrusts a finger in John's face. "If she tells _anyone_ , I'll rip all of your throats out. Got it?"

=====

When they reach the Hughes family, John immediately leads Katie and Casey away. Kim is separated from the group, likely calling some out-of-town relative with news on Chris. Margo and Tom get up from their seats, awaiting their answers, and he feels Bob's gentle stare on him to his left. Luke is facing away from him, and Alison is talking. Something about Noah leaving; Reid barely cares, but he needs to see Luke's face.

He clears his throat, and Luke turns. His face breaks out into a huge grin and he dashes away from Alison, barrelling into Reid's chest. The impact stuns him slightly, and he waits until Luke is settled into that position against his neck before he speaks.

"He's still in shock," Reid says, feeling Luke's nose nuzzle his scars and resisting the urge to throw him to the ground right there and fuck him until he is unconscious. Once again, Reid inwardly thanks John for the lab coat.

"We all are," Tom says, and he takes Margo's hand.

"Shouldn't we wait for Katie and Casey?" Alison asks, and Bob's about to cover for Reid when Margo speaks. She speaks to Luke.

"Luke, are you okay?" Margo says gently. Luke nods and fastens his lips to Reid's neck, sucking on the flesh there. Reid moans a little, unable to control himself, and his hand slides up Luke's back. Tom looks a little uncomfortable, Alison confused and Margo is reaching out a hand to Luke's cheek.

"Luke, can I see?"

"Reid," Bob interjects, "maybe there's a better way of handling this."

But Luke has already moved away, still fastened to Reid's side but staring, unblinking, at Alison. Alison's mouth has dropped open, and Reid feels Margo's fingers on his throat.

"You're one of them," she whispers.

"I assure you, Dr. Oliver has my full trust," Bob says to Tom, as he seems to be the only person listening. Margo and Alison are silent for a moment, and Reid focuses on Luke's heavy breathing and his full, swollen lips.

Tom's voice breaks the silence. "Chris."

Reid drops his hand from Luke's back and heads straight for Chris' room. Tom is calling after him, screaming "What have you done with him, you bastard?" and Bob is trying to placate him and Alison and Margo are still just as quiet as Luke had been. Reid does not look back as he closes the door behind him, but he senses Luke following, can smell Luke's scent on the other side of the door, can feel Luke pressing his whole body against it. He can hear Tom asking what is wrong with him, demanding to know if this is some power Reid has over him, and Bob is telling him it's just that Luke is in love, and the stress and confusion of the day has left him dazed.

Reid tunes out their conversation, and tears the lab coat off. He turns to face the door, and can feel the heat of Luke's body through the wood. He steadies himself, placing a hand on the green paint where he can feel Luke on the other side, and rests his forehead against the door. With a gasp, he reaches inside his scrubs, untucking himself and sharply tugging. He tries to bring himself to climax as quickly as possible, following his earlier resistance, and already his knees are starting to buckle beneath him. His weight presses entirely against the door, and Reid mouths at the wood as if it were Luke's chest, curling the fingers of his other hand and scratching away paint beneath his fingernails. Reid hears Luke's shuddery breaths, and he can only imagine what is happening to him on the other side. Reid groans, and his balls feel tight, the swollen and red head of his cock disappearing and emerging from within Reid's fist. Reid brings his other hand up to touch the scars, and he feels a moan stick in his throat as sticky liquid spills over his hand. There are thick splashes of semen on the door, and Reid immediately drops to his knees to lick them away, closing his eyes and trying to convince himself that it's Luke he is tasting.

Reid licks his hand clean, nipping a little at his finger to that his blood congeals with the spunk to create a flavour on his tongue that is uniquely his. A flavour he longs for Luke to grow accustomed to. He takes a few moments to gather himself, and can't help but wonder what state Luke is in on the other side. This would do nothing to convince John Dixon that Luke wasn't enthralled, but he would deal with that when the time comes. For now, he needs to get out of that hospital as soon as he can, and drag Luke to a bed, any bed, to show him exactly what they would have lost today if he had been human.

Reid tucks himself back into Chris' scrubs, careful of his oversensitive skin, and breathes deeply. It does nothing to affect him physically, but the sound of air whistling through to his empty lungs helps to calm him.

He stands, and turns. Two eyes meet him, almost black with fear, rage, and blood lust.

Chris Hughes is awake. Chris Hughes has, in a matter of hours, died, had his soul move on to that dark place Reid only ever saw for a moment, and was ripped away to wake up in that same damn hospital bed. Chris Hughes is getting his first glimpse of eternity, and it is of Reid Oliver writhing in desire in front of him.

Chris Hughes screams.


	3. Chapter 3

_He opened his eyes slowly when he felt the soft tug of fingers in his hair. Their eyes connected._

 _"Morning, Red."_

 _He smiled._

 _The hand, skin calloused, ran down his cheek. His gaze flicked up to his white hair, down to his lips, and back to his eyes. He nodded._

 _"Are you going to speak for me today?" came his Scottish brogue._

 _He shook his head. The man came to sit beside him, taking his hand._

 _"One day, I'm going to come in here, and you'll say 'Hello Angus.'"_

 _He let out a sharp breath, the closest he could come to a laugh._

 _"Dr. Oliver?" a nurse said. "It's Jenkins."_

 _"I have to go," Angus said, standing. "I'll be back, Red."_

===

Reid sits alone in the break room, rubbing his temples. This shouldn't have happened. Chris' entire body needed to shut down and reboot. He should have taken two days to die and wake up again, but there he lay, terrified and screaming, just mere hours later. John and Bob had come in immediately, Reid grappling with Chris' flailiing limbs, while Bob looked into his son's eyes, trying to relax him. In the first few days, the heart still beats, the body still desperate to convince itself that it is alive. The flow of Chris' cold blood through his veins allowed John to sedate him, but the rest would only give him a day at most.

Reid is tired, and hurt, and he even walked away from Luke as he left Chris' room. Physically, he has healed, but when he closes his eyes, he can still see the train coming towards him, still feel the wheel of his car slam into his sternum. Still feel the claustrophobia of that old, wooden box; still taste the dirt on his tongue. He wonders if anyone ever visited that lonely Scottish grave.

The door opens, and Reid meets the eyes of Margo Hughes.

"I'm sorry about Tom," she says. "He can get a bit...emotional."

"Whereas you're perfectly fine with it," Reid says with an eyeroll.

"Yes," Margo says. She takes a seat directly across from him. "Believe me, you're not the first I've had to deal with in Oakdale. Have you ever heard of James Stenbeck?"

Reid scowls. "Bastard owes me fifty dollars."

"Listen." Margo places a hand on Reid's knee. "We don't blame you for Chris. You did what you needed to to save him, and Bob says it was Chris' choice."

"So why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to you about Luke."

Reid throws the paper cup of flavourless coffee he is drinking in the trash, and walks over to his locker. "How is that any of your business?"

"I'm worried about Katie," Margo admits. "I don't want the same thing happening to her as with Luke."

"And what's that, exactly?"

"Have you enthralled him?" Margo all-but whispers.

===

 _Angus visited him last, before the night began. He reached out for him, longing to touch his skin, to feel himself enveloped in his comfort. Since abandoning his voice in the trenches, he'd become a much more tactile person. He had to feel, to touch things to believe them, because words lie._

 _Angus cocooned him, and the other patients on his ward were already asleep. They stole Angus from him during the day. The nights belonged to him._

 _"Hello, Red," Angus said, cupping his cheek in a way that was so familiar to him. A way that made him feel safe. He blushed, and curled into Angus' side, his forehead pressed into the crook of Angus' neck._

 _"Are you going to speak for me tonight?" Angus asked. He nodded his head._

 _"Oh Red," Angus sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"_

 _He pressed his lips against the scars on Angus' neck, his way of apologising._

 _"It's okay, Red," Angus said. "Nobody else can hear us. You can speak to me. You trust me."_

 _He sat, trying to force the sounds from his throat, but his voicebox felt frozen from months of neglect. Angus' head dropped to press a kiss to his collarbone, and it felt like a miracle elixir cascading down his windpipe. His Adam's apple felt warm, and the words tumbled from his lips before he even had the chance to process them._

 _"My hair isn't red." His voice was hoarse and quiet from the lack of use, but Angus heard it. He grinned against his skin._

 _"Red suits you."_

 _He feelt something sharp plunge into the skin of his neck. He tried to scream, but his cowardly throat wouldn't let him._

===

"Are you serious?" Reid snaps.

"Oh, I'm not accusing you of doing it on purpose," Margo insists, raising her hands defensively. "He's just acting strange. Casey and Tom are restraining him now just so I have the time to talk to you."

"Mrs Hughes, I'm sorry, but you're an idiot," Reid says with a groan. "I was hit by a train. Luke thought I was about to die, and then I drop this bombshell on him! He loves me, of course he's not going to act normal!"

Margo folds her arms over her chest. "Does he love you?"

"Yes!"

"And he's not just saying that because you enthralled him?"

Reid gives up on waiting for Margo to leave, and begins changing out of Chris' scrubs into his spare clothes. He feels dirty in them. "If you want me to look after your precious Doogie, stop wasting my time." He pulls his scrub shirt over his head. "And for the record, Luke and I said we loved each other before he found out what I am."

"He still could have been enthralled without knowing," Margo counters.

Reid tosses the shirt into his locker. "Why won't you people ever stop?"

"I'm just concerned for Katie," Margo says. "I want to make sure she's safe."

"I won't let anything happen to Katie, or Jacob," Reid says. "You know I won't. And I can tell, much better than you possibly could, the difference between love and enthralling. Luke loves me."

"Prove it," Margo demands, and heads for the door. As she opens it, Luke charges in, slamming Reid up against the lockers and kissing a path along his bare chest, from Reid's neck down to his sternum.

"I missed you," Luke mumbles against his skin.

"It's only been a half hour," Reid tells him, his eyes still locked with Margo's in the entrance. He jerks his head, and Margo softly closes the door, moving over to watch them through the gap in the blinds.

Reid turns his attention back to Luke, cradling his face in his hands and locking eyes with him. Reid smiles at him. "Luke, slow down, okay?"

He takes Luke's hand and leads him to the chair. He settles himself on the seat, and Luke instantly climbs over his lap, straddling him and grinding against Reid's already-hardening cock. Reid's gaze flicks over to Margo's for a moment, before he hears Luke's confused whimper.

"What's wrong?"

"You're not touching me," Luke says with a pout. "I need you to touch me."

"You seemed to be doing a pretty fine job on your own," Reid laughs, and he begins to jerk to match the steady rotation of Luke's hips. Reid's hands cradle Luke's abdomen, and he bends his back to run an experimental tongue over Luke's transplant scar. Luke groans, clawing at the skin on Reid's shoulder blades, and Reid trails the tip of his tongue over to Luke's navel, tonguing the crevice for a moment before kissing a line up Luke's chest to the spot below his ear. Luke gasps, his eyes heavy-lidded and his mouth dropping open. Reid lets his slightly sharpened teeth scratch at Luke's pulse point: not enough to break the skin, but enough to make Luke shudder.

"Do you love me?" Reid asks, his voice low and husky. He feels the heat from Luke's body radiate through his thin t-shirt to Reid's cold skin, and jerks his hips violently to make Luke cry out.

"Yes," Luke gasps, and his hands fist in Reid's hair.

"Say it," Reid demands. He still kisses Luke's pulse point, pulling at the neckline of Luke's t-shirt so hard that the stitching begins to tear away.

"I love you, Reid," Luke whispers.

"Good."

Reid's teeth sink into Luke's neck. Luke pulls him closer.

===

 _The light burned his eyes as the sun began to rise. He'd been staring at the same spot of disturbed earth for hours now, looking away only to observe the dirt under his fingernails; the bleeding knuckles. He read the stone again. A name that was at once familiar and completely alien to him._

 _He remembered waking up, unable to breathe in his wooden prison. He still couldn't breathe, the air in his lungs more suffocating than the soil in his throat. He remembered the last thing he saw before he died. The horrifying, predatory face of his trickster. His condemner. The only man who could save him. He couldn't look at the man who had stolen his trust, his life, but he knew he would never escape him._

 _Angus placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'd better leave, Red."_

 _"Reid," he whispered._

 _"What's that?"_

 _"Your accent," he said, unblinking. "When you call me 'Red', it sounds like 'Reid'."_

 _"Aye, I'm Scottish," Angus said hurriedly. "Now let's go."_

 _"This man here," he points at his own name on his gravestone. "He is dead. Let him rest in peace."_

 _"Fine. Come on."_

 _"My name is Reid," he said, letting himself die. "Reid Oliver."_

===

Luke is on the floor at Reid's feet, one hand clamped to his neck, the other snaked around Reid's thigh. He stares straight ahead at the small puddle of liquid in front of him.

Reid turns his head to the window, catching Margo's gaze, and mouths, "There's your proof."

Margo nods, a little ashamed, and turns away. Reid turns back to Luke, stroking a hand lazily through his hair, and says, "Maybe I should explain."

"It couldn't hurt," Luke says quietly.

"There's this thing," Reid begins, "called enthralling. Or glamouring. There are a thousand different names for it. What happens is, a human becomes infatuated with a v-" He pauses, and clears his throat. "With one of us. It looks a lot like love, and a bit like obsession, and it's completely insincere."

"You thought I didn't love you?" Luke asks, his voice meek. He lifts his head up to Reid, who looks down at him a little sadly.

"Never," Reid insists. "But you have to admit, you've been acting a little strangely all day."

"You were dying," Luke whispers. "Can't let you go." His grip tightens on Reid's leg. Reid slides off the chair to sit by Luke's side. Luke, once again, curls into his side, nuzzling Reid's scars, and Reid remembers a man long-dead who wore his face, who used to do the same thing.

"You're very...innocent," Reid says. "Very touchy-feely. Your behaviour today has been classic enthralling."

"Sorry," Luke mumbles.

"Don't be. If there are three things in this world I know, they are brains, grief, and you," Reid's hand rests on Luke's shoulder, just inches away from the wound he won't look at. "John and Margo aren't as brilliant as me, so they thought differently."

"Because I could never love anybody but Noah, right?"

"Luke," Reid says. "Their emotions are just as fucked up as yours today. They were worried. Anyway, there's this thing. If someone is enthralled, that disappears the moment one of us bites them. That's when the panic sets in, the fear, the hatred. They try to escape, but they can't. It's the most horrifying thing that can ever happen to somebody, being tricked."

"Is that what happened to you?" Luke asks. He presses a quick kiss to Reid's scars, then settles back against his chest.

"I don't want to talk about it," Reid says. "Margo was watching us, just now. I bit you, and you didn't fear me. You don't hate me. I had to prove to her. I'm sorry."

"Why did you spit it out?" Luke asks. He jerks his head towards the small puddle in front of them.

Reid kisses Luke's temple. "I don't want to taste you. If I start, I won't be able to stop myself."

"If you killed me, you could always bring me back," Luke says with a smile. Reid doesn't return it. In fact, the words Luke fills with such hope and happiness are Reid's second-worst nightmare, after the wooden box.

"I'd rather taste you in other ways," Reid says, his hand snaking inside Luke's shirt. Luke's grin turns lecherous, and he breathes hot and heavy against Reid's lips.

"I heard Katie say she's staying with Tom and Margo tonight."

"Chris won't be awake for at least a day."

"I'm not scared."

"I know."

===

 _Fifty years later, Reid abandoned Angus in New York City. He tried to forget the scared, voiceless soldier in a hospital bed. He tried to forget the empty grave in the hills surrounding Edinburgh. He tried to forget watching from a distance as Angus told the woman who bore him that her son was dead in a Lancashire backstreet. He tried to forget England, France, Spain, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the hundreds of people he'd tricked into loving him, the lives he'd stolen, because Angus told him to._

 _Reid Oliver was his name now, and he didn't want Reid to be a monster._

 _Reid travelled alone across Canada, and down through Minnesota and Iowa, drinking nothing but the little he managed to steal from hospitals along the way._

 _In 1967, he settled in Chicago, Illinois. It was there that he first met Lucinda Walsh._

===

It isn't until he reaches the bed that Reid realises Luke isn't touching him anymore.

"This is your bedroom," Luke gasps, frozen in the doorway.

"Were you expecting a coffin?" Reid says.

"Don't be cute," Luke says, with the hint of a wicked grin. Reid bats his lashes a few times before rolling his eyes.

"If you're not going to come in, I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted," Reid strips off the emergency shirt he keeps in his locker, and hears Luke's breath catch in his throat behind him. He reaches for the waistband of the scrub pants he is still wearing, and feels another hand slip around his hip. The hand grabs Reid's own, and Luke spins Reid to face him.

"I want to."

Luke drops to his knees, his hands caressing Reid's abdomen, before the fingers curl around Reid's waistband and tug.

"Commando?" Luke says, raising his eyebrow.

"The hospital stole my underwear after the crash," Reid explains. Luke responds by nuzzling his nose into the curls of Reid's auburn hair, kissing the base of Reid's hard dick.

"I thought you wanted me to taste you," Reid says. Luke grins up at him, then wraps a leg around Reid's and wrestles him to the ground. Reid laughs, pulling Luke onto his lap and tugging his shirt over his head. Luke straddles him, and Reid sits up, resting his weight on his elbows. He presses his lips against Luke's left nipple, and Luke's hands are running over every inch of Reid's naked body that he can reach. Reid flips them, so that Luke is splayed on the floor beneath him. He takes his time unfastening Luke's jeans, feeling Luke's fingers trying to gain purchase on his skin, but keeping far enough away that Luke can't kiss him. The desire in Luke's eyes has the cold blood throbbing in his veins. He reminds himself to keep his heart beating.

Reid slides down Luke's jeans and boxers in one go, and he can't help but blurt out his first thought.

"You're a natural blond!"

Luke giggles. "I love you. Now blow me."

"When did you get so demanding?" Reid laughs.

"Do you not remember how I got you here?"

Reid answers by taking Luke into his mouth, and thinks about whether Noah ever did this to him. Reid hopes he had, because he knows he can give Luke so much more, and wants Luke to have that basis for comparison.

Reid doesn't need to breathe.

Reid takes Luke's entire length into his mouth with an urgency he didn't expect for his first time, but after everything that had happened that day, taking his time is the last thing on Reid's mind. He feels the head of Luke's cock slam against the back of his throat, and makes sure his sharpened teeth are shielded by his lips. He doesn't have proper fangs, not the stereotypical ones anyway, but he could still cause damage if he gets carried away.

Luke's hand is on the back of Reid's head, grappling with Reid's hair and pushing himself in as if wanting to fuse them together. Reid steadies himself with his hands on Luke's thighs, his fingernails imprinting cresent moon shapes in his skin. Luke is breathing his name, the R escaping in gusts of air and the D cutting off the flow. Reid quickens the pace, adding flicks of his tongue along the shaft, and he stares up at Luke through the mass of blonde hair. Luke's head is thrown back, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open in a silent moan. His Adam's apple is bobbing in his throat, and Reid can see the scabs forming where Reid bit him. He shifts his hands, one to press against his own bite scars, the other to splay across Luke's transplant scar. Luke's hips buck beneath him, and Reid braces himself for the explosion. He moans a little around Luke, and lets his teeth nip at his lip. Reid's blood smears over Luke's cock, and the moisture has Luke crying out his name, jerking against the roof of Reid's mouth as he comes. Reid swallows Luke down with his own blood, and feels the salty taste scratch sizzle down his gullet.

Reid collapses on his back, and Luke climbs up his body to settle into his side.

"Wow," Luke smiles.

"The benefits of not having a gag reflex," Reid says. Luke kisses him, his tongue teasing the small cut on Reid's lip.

"Do you want to fuck me?"

"Always," Reid admits. "Except now."

"But you're hard."

"Your concern is touching," Reid says, cradling Luke in his arms, "but you can't see what you look like right now. You look exhausted. It's been a rough day."

"I'm fine," Luke insists.

"Get in the bed," Reid orders, standing up.

"Fuck me."

"Oh, I will," Reid promises. He takes Luke's hands and pulls him to his feet. "When you stop seeing me in that hospital bed every time you close your eyes."

He pushes Luke down on the mattress, crawling up alongside him.

"How did you know about that?"

===

 _"I see him everywhere I go," Lucinda told him. "I told everyone Martin killed himself. But he didn't. My husband was murdered."_

 _"I'm sorry," Reid said. He took a sip of his beer._

 _"By one of you."_


	4. Chapter 4

"How did you die?" Luke asks.

"I don't want to talk about it," Reid replies.

"How old are you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why do you eat so many sandwiches if you live off blood?"

"Luke!"

"Does Katie know?"

Reid looks up then. "No," he admits. "And I would never hurt her or Jacob, so don't even think about telling them."

Luke thinks for a moment, and nods, huge grin on his face. Reid can't help but roll his eyes. Emotionally mature as he may be, mention the V-word and Luke Snyder turns into Casey Hughes.

Luke crawls into Reid's lap, straddling his thighs and wrapping his arms around Reid's neck. His thumb runs over Reid's scars and he shudders at the sensitivity.

"What does it taste like?"

"As you'd expect," Reid answers. Luke raises an eyebrow. "Like iron, but there are differences in flavour like any food. It all depends on the person's lifestyle." He presses a quick kiss to Luke's lips. "Back before I stopped feeding, I fed off a drunkard. He tasted just like wine. By the time I finished, I would have been over the blood-alcohol limit for driving. You know, if there'd been cars then."

"So you're old?" Luke asks with a laugh.

"There was always an age gap between us, Mr Snyder."

"Please tell me."

"Okay," Reid mock-sighs. "I used to be Shakespeare's neighbour. He based Mercutio on me."

"Really?"

"Of course not."

Luke sits in thought, rubbing circles with his thumb on the scars absent-mindedly. "I bet I'd taste awful," he says with an overemphasised pout. "Dirty blood and anti-rejection meds."

"No, I think you'd taste like sunshine and candy," Reid says, only half in jest.

Luke's swiped the scissors from Katie's side table before Reid gets the chance to register what is happening. A long, wet, dripping, red wound is waving in front of his face. The blood trickles from Luke's palm down to his wrist. Reid can see his veins throbbing.

"Taste me."

===

 _"Your accent is very strange," Lucinda observed._

 _Reid looked down at his empty glass, and Lucinda nonchalantly waved a waiter over to their dark corner of the bar to refill it. "Is it?" Reid asked, his voice monotone._

 _"You're not from around here, are you?"_

 _The waiter left. "I'm English," Reid said. "But I've been in America for quite a while. I'm adapting."_

 _"How long's a while?"_

 _"I look exactly the same age now as I did then," Reid said. He continued, ignoring Lucinda's theatrical scoff. "It's anybody's guess."_

 _"You came to America within a year of the second world war," Lucinda told him. "You worked for brief stints in various hospitals in different states, before your notoriety for fleeing town destroyed your employment prospects. You used to travel with your uncle, but are now alone."_

 _"Impressive," Reid mused. "Just how many files does your private investigator have on me?"_

 _"I don't have the greatest track record with your kind," Lucinda said. "I needed to make sure I could trust you."_

 _"Lucinda, what is it that you want from me?"_

 _Lucinda sighed. "My daughter, Lily, she's not mine. Martin rescued her from a gang, or a pack, whatever you people call yourselves, and they killed him."_

 _"I had nothing to do with that."_

 _"I know, but you will."_

 _Lucinda pushed the sealed envelope discreetly across the table. Reid could tell by the thickness just how much cash it contained._

 _"I want you to find whoever murdered my husband. I want you to kill them."_

===

Reid barely looks at Luke's face as he wraps a bandage around his hand.

"Reid," Luke says gently, and Reid can only tell how close he is by the breath on his face.

"Don't apologise."

"I thought it'd be, I don't know," he sighs. "Hot? Everything's been so intense."

"Luke, how would you feel if I asked you to drink?" Reid meets his gaze, and after a moment, Luke's eyes drop to his bandaged palm, still nestled between Reid's hands.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

"It's an addiction, just like any other."

"The difference being, your addiction won't kill you," Luke says.

Reid traces his finger over the hint of a colour-change on the white material. It's as if Luke's blood is desperate to break free of the bandages and get to him. A small part of Reid wishes it would.

"No," he says, "but it could kill you."

Luke is back in his lap, pressing Reid deep into the cushions of the couch, and Reid's hands slide up Luke's back, fingers hooking together behind Luke's neck.

"Are you okay?" Reid asks.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, there's the small matter of yesterday."

"You mean when you told me you loved me?" Luke teases. He presses his nose against Reid's own and nuzzles. Reid laughs.

"You're ruining my reputation."

"I'm sure the whole bloodsucking thing will stop all the nurses cooing at you for snuggling with your boyfriend."

"We are not snuggling," Reid insists.

"We're totally snuggling."

Reid drags Luke on top of him, lying back against the couch, and lifts one leg to hook over the back rest, the other dropping to the floor. Luke settles his knees into the gap between Reid's thighs, his chest pressed flat against Reid's own, the ends of his hair brushing against Reid's cheek as Luke fixes his mouth to his favourite spot on Reid's neck. Reid growls a little, and Luke runs his hands along Reid's triceps, then his forearms, to grip his wrists above his head.

Luke's lips leave Reid's skin to grin devilishly at him. "I owe you something."

Luke transfers Reid's wrists into his uninjured hand, and he squeezes them together. It's a fruitless gesture; Reid could easily break free without his enhanced abilities. But Luke's other hand is travelling slowly down his chest until his fingers, fumbling a little with the button of Reid's fly due to his bandages, and eventually Luke's hand is gripped around his dick. Reid thrusts his hips upward, allowing Luke's injured palm some slack, but Luke makes use of the bandage, experimenting with how the rough material makes Reid jerk beneath him as it catches the sensitive head of Reid's cock. Reid's wrists twist in Luke's grasp, and Luke's face is hovering just above his. Neither blink, and Luke's tongue occasionally darts out to meet Reid's own, but he never lets their lips touch. He is just out of reach, and Reid wants to trap Luke's lower lip between his teeth, to feel Luke's curious tongue explore his mouth some more. He wants to break free from Luke's grasp, grab him by the hips, flip him over and fuck him until he cries. But he remains at Luke's mercy, as with slow, laboured strokes he drives Reid crazy. One of the greatest lessons he learned from Angus was that the hunt was often more satisfying than the feed. And he wants to take his time with this now. If there's one thing they can both be sure of, it's that they have plenty of time.

It doesn't take too long for Luke to bring him to climax. Reid had been sensitive the entire night before, watching Luke sleep in his bed, naked and finally peaceful, and refusing to touch himself. He never wanted Luke to stop touching him. Margo and John were wrong. If anything, Reid was enthralled by Luke.

Luke collapses against Reid, his hand still cupping him inside his jeans as Reid's come seeps into Luke's bandage. Reid can hear his enforced heartbeat pounding in his ears, almost, but not quite, drowning out another voice.

"Reid? Oh God-"

It's not Luke.

Reid and Luke both look up, Reid a little dazed, Luke's face that mixture of innocent and lustful that he wore at the hospital, to see Katie in the doorway. Katie's hand covers her mouth and Reid notices her cheeks reddening. Once again, he's mildly concerned that Luke is barely reacting.

"Thank God I told Henry to wait in the car!" Katie laughs.

"Sorry Katie," Reid says. "We'll clean up."

"Well, you'd better do it quickly," Katie says, looking down in amusement at Luke, whose hand is still buried somewhere beneath denim. "I don't know how you did it Reid, but Chris is awake."

===

"Chris?"

Reid quietly closes the door behind him, safe in the knowledge that Katie would be distracting Luke. Of course, there's always the possibility of Luke saying something he shouldn't, which is why he sent Alison Stewart after them. John's demand to tell her was proving useful already.

Chris' eyes flutter open. "Reid."

"How are you feeling?"

"Do you want me to be honest, or brave?" Chris asks.

Reid takes a seat next to Chris and folds his arms over his chest. "Not being honest got you in this mess in the first place."

"I'm cold," Chris says in a small voice, "really cold."

"You just need time to adjust," Reid tells him.

"I still have a pulse," Chris continues. "I checked."

"Listen, Chris," Reid leans forward, head in his hands and resting his elbows on his lap, "There's a lot of things I have to explain to you, and it's going to be strange, and scary, and there are days when you're going to hate me for what I've done, but you have to trust me, okay?"

"Why is my heart beating?" Chris asks again. Reid hears his voice cracking.

"Your body hasn't worked out that you're dead yet," Reid says. "It's a good thing. Hold on to it, keep your heart beating. It'll be painful, but it'll make you feel alive."

Chris nods to the window. "I take it you told him."

Reid glances back, to see Luke watching them through the glass. "Yeah," he sighs. "He's still getting used to it."

"Who else knows?"

"Your dad, John," Reid begins, getting up from his seat, "Margo and Tom, Alison, and Luke."

Reid stops in front of the window, and Luke offers him a toothy grin. Reid smirks a little, and raises a finger to indicate he'll be out soon, before closing the blinds.

"You haven't told my mom? Or Katie?"

"No," Reid says, still facing the blinds.

"Good," Chris says. "I really love Katie, I don't want her-"

"Are you hungry?" Reid asks.

Chris stops talking immediately, and the room is silent except for the beeping of various machines that aren't actually connected to Chris.

Chris stammers a little. "I ha- I guess- Yeah."

"How are you going to deal with that?" Reid turns to face him.

"I don't know," Chris begins. "Rats?"

Reid laughs. "Wow, Doogie, I had no idea you were _this_ stupid."

"Shut up," Chris says, though he's laughing too, and Reid feels confident for the first time since he first tasted Chris. He can't remember ever laughing with Angus.

"Bob's going to increase the push for blood donations, and there's always animal blood from the butcher," Reid says. "Just never drink fresh from anybody. If you never get the taste for it, hopefully you never will."

"I wouldn't," Chris begins, but Reid cuts him off.

"You might," he says. Reid slips a small razor blade out of his pocket and reopens the wound on his wrist. He offers it to Chris, who looks up at him, confused.

"I thought I shouldn't drink from anybody."

"I'm not anybody," Reid says, and presses his blood-soaked skin against Chris' lips.

===

 _"I did it," Reid said, bursting into Lucinda's office and flinging himself down into the seat._

 _Lucinda set down her pen and removed her glasses. "Reid, how nice of you to come by."_

 _"Enough with the pleasantries," Reid demanded. He sat forward, slamming his hands down on Lucinda's desk. "I just killed three of my own kind. I tied them down and drained every last drop of blood from their bodies. With syringes. Did you know that's the most painful way to die?"_

 _"It's the only way to be sure they won't come back," Lucinda shot back._

 _"No, I think a beheading would have sufficed."_

 _"I wanted them to suffer," Lucinda said. She slipped her glasses back on and returned to her paperwork. "And as I was paying, I don't think you're in any position to argue with my methods."_

 _Reid slammed his hand down. "They have friends. Allies. If they find me, they'll kill me. I need protection, and you're going to give it to me."_

 _"Or what?" Lucinda scoffed. "You'll drink me dry?"_

 _"No," Reid snarled. "I'll let them have you."_

 _Lucinda pondered for a moment. "Leave Illinois," she said. "Lay low for a few years, and start again somewhere else. If anyone comes looking for you, I'll get someone to handle it. Oh, and Reid?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _Lucinda smiled at him. "Learn our accent. It'll help you blend in."_

===

As John explains to Katie and Henry the details of Chris' discharge, Luke pushes Reid into one of the waiting room chairs and clambers into his lap. Luke's thumb is massaging the healing cut on Reid's wrist, and his teeth are tugging at Reid's earlobe.

"Did he drink from you?" Luke whispers in his ear. Reid turns his head to face Luke, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Luke, Katie's in the room," he mutters.

Luke nudges Reid's nose and captures his lips in a kiss. "I can't help it, it's kinda hot," Luke says between kisses.

"Dr Oliver, you've certainly changed," Katie says, laughing. Reid looks at her and Luke shifts himself into that familiar position against Reid's scars. "Unless this is just one very elaborate mockery of the concept of love."

"Hi Katie," Reid replies, "where's Hank?"

" _Henry_ saw the two of you and ran away to claw out his eyes," Katie says. "John wants to talk to you."

"Again?" Luke moans.

"Hey Luke, how about you come see Chris with me?" Katie asks.

Luke lifts his head, and rolls his eyes at Reid. "You have ten minutes," he says, and slips out of Reid's lap.

"I promise," Katie says, putting a hand on Luke's back, "you'll be back to defiling my couch before you know it."

===

"So, you want to release Chris tomorrow?" Reid asks, incredulous.

"There is no medical reason to keep him here," John replies. "Eventually someone is going to realise that we're faking his vital signs."

Reid paces the break room, his fingers pressed to his lips, and the wooden box is back. He feels suffocated by the room, by this hospital, and the gravity of what he's done hits him. Chris is dead. Reid killed him. And now there's a real chance he's unleashed a monster upon Oakdale.

"Bob will keep him safe, and you have my constant support," John continues, "but then there's Katie."

"We can't tell her," Reid insists.

"I know," John says. "Chris isn't the one you need to protect. Katie is."

There's a knock at the door, and it opens before John or Reid answers it.

"Bob, have you seen..." comes Lucinda's voice. As the door opens, she stops dead, her eyes flicking from John to Reid, and back again.

"Lucinda!" John exclaims, with a forced joy to gloss over the awkward situation. "How wonderful to see you again!"

"Hello John," Lucinda replies, "Kim told me you were in town."

Reid clears his throat, "Maybe I should leave."

"Oh, Dr Oliver," Lucinda says, her voice taking an even harsher tone. "I don't suppose you've seen my grandson anywhere."

"I'm actually going to meet him now," Reid says with mock sincerity. "If you'd like to accompany me..."

"I'll speak to you soon," John says to both of them, and Reid escorts Lucinda from the break room. As the door closes behind them, Lucinda leans over to mutter in Reid's ear.

"I'm glad to see you're not injured. Don't you dare scare Luke like that again. I know your weaknesses."

===

"Chris looked...well," Luke says. He's lying on his side on Reid's bed, his head sinking deep into the pillows. His hands travel up and down Reid's biceps, and Reid places his own hand on Luke's hip.

"He'll be okay."

"Are you sure it's a good idea letting Katie stay over at the hospital?"

Reid applies pressure to Luke's hip, pushing his back against the mattress, and he follows suit, rolling over to straddle Luke, and pushing himself up with the heels of his palms on either side of Luke's shoulders. "Katie's a big girl, she can look after herself," he says. "Besides, if Katie's there, she's not here."

"Reid," Luke gasps.

"Shhh."

Reid captures Luke's lips in a kiss, full and deep, and Luke would be close to choking Reid with his tongue if Reid needed to breathe. Reid grinds down against Luke, both of them already half-hard. Luke groans into Reid's mouth at the sensation of the friction from his boxers, and Reid breaks away from him, lifting his leg back over Luke's thighs.

"Legs," he says, and Luke lifts his legs into the air, allowing Reid to slip off his underwear. Reid slips his own boxers off, and splays himself over Luke's body, chest to chest, legs entwined. His head falls onto the pillow next to Luke's, and one hand slides down to grip them both. He hears Luke's shuddery breath as he slowly strokes them both. Luke lets out a soft moan, and Reid kisses his temple.

"I was born in 1888," he begins, the words barely audible in the room due to Luke's moans and gasps, but Reid is speaking straight into Luke's ear, because he knows he will never say all this again. "I was a soldier in the first world war. I was shellshocked, and my doctor sired me. I was 29."

"Reid, I need-"

"He enthralled me first."

Luke sits up, and Reid's hand halts. "Oh God, Reid."

"It was a lifetime ago. Several lifetimes."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Luke asks.

"Because," Reid says, his hand coming up to cup Luke's cheek, "Chris is coming out tomorrow. I need to make sure you understand. I don't want to make the same mistakes Angus made with me."

"Angus?" Luke asks. "Your uncle?"

"My sire," Reid corrects him. "He named me Reid."

"What's your real name?"

"That doesn't matter," Reid says, then presses a kiss to Luke's nose. "He's the dead son of a cotton mill worker from Northern England. I'm Dr. Reid Oliver."

"Reid," Luke repeats, his voice small. He lifts his hand, thumb stroking over Reid's cheek, and he swallows, nodding his head. "I'm ready."

"For what?" Reid asks, though he suspects he already knows the answer.

Luke flips over, his chest pressed down against the mattress, ass exposed. He opens his legs, presenting himself, and Reid feels all the dead blood in his body rushing straight to his cock. He slides himself over Luke's body, dick pressed against Luke's entrance, and bites Luke's shoulder. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to leave a mark. Luke lets out a low groan and Reid smirks.

"Turn over," Reid demands. "I want to look at you."

Luke shifts beneath Reid. His pupils are wide as his gaze meets Reid's, and his hands rake over Reid's chest, scratching a little at the skin. "Do you have-"

"We can't transmit diseases," Reid says, careful not to ruin the mood. "Unless, of course, you want-"

"-No," Luke says. "I want it without."

Reid nods, and leans over to grab a bottle of lube from his dresser. He guides Luke's legs to rest on his shoulders, kissing Luke's calf as he does so. He applies lubricant to three of his fingers, and pushes two inside Luke, scissoring gently inside him.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," Luke breathes. "I'm used to it."

Reid raises an eyebrow.

"I've done this a lot," Luke explains. "My fingers. Imagining you."

Reid presses in another finger, and Luke cries out, his head pushing back against the pillow; his back arching a little. He rocks his hips, fucking himself on Reid's fingers, and Reid uses his free hand to pop the lid on the lube again, slicking himself. He slides his fingers out slowly, and Luke whimpers at the loss. But then Reid is lining himself up, and his tip is pushing against Luke's entrance. He pauses, and catches Luke's eye.

"Finally," he says with a smile.

"I'm never waiting for anything again," Luke replies, and Reid pushes in.

He doesn't hear Luke breathe again until Reid pauses, half inside him. Reid bends his back, leaning over Luke and kissing him.

"I have waited so long to do that," Reid says against Luke's lips.

Luke's hands twist in Reid's hair, pulling roughly, and he says one word. "Deeper."

Luke forces Reid's lips to stay pressed to his skin as Reid buries himself fully inside Luke. Luke's mouth drops open in a silent moan, and Reid's tongue darts out to run over Luke's swollen bottom lip. They begin to rock together slowly, establishing a steady rhythm, and Reid can feel the clenching of Luke's calf muscles on his shoulders as his toes curl. Luke's cock is hard between them, and he lets one hand, still bandaged, leave Reid's hair to grip himself, his strokes matching Reid's thrusts.

"There," is all Luke can manage to say as Reid finds his prostate. Reid begins to pick up his rhythm, slamming against the sensitive gland as Luke rocks up against him. Luke yanks Reid's head back with the hand still in his hair, and sucks at Reid's scars, his hips jerking violently as his fist pumps between their two bodies. Reid feels the hot spill of come on his abdomen before he hears Luke crying out against the skin on his neck, and he's jutting into Luke so roughly, so desperately, he thinks he could break him. Luke lifts his hand, and slips the taste of himself on his finger into Reid's mouth, as his tongue swipes across Reid's scars. It's enough to push Reid over the edge, and he's filling Luke, crying out his name around Luke's finger as his body spasms.

Reid collapses against Luke's chest as Luke lowers his legs. Luke is quiet, a little dazed, and Reid allows himself a few seconds to regain his composure. He's hungry for the taste of Luke, and he can feel Luke's rapid heartbeat pulsing against his chest. He slides down Luke's body, and begins licking away the sticky mess that covers him.

"I love you," Luke whispers, followed by the less romantic, "and that was fucking awesome."

"Obviously," Reid says, crawling back up the bed to flop down next to Luke. Luke curls into his side, entwining their legs. Reid feels Luke's eyelashes brush his skin as he closes his eyes, and he wraps Luke up in his arms.

"I promise, I won't ask you again," Luke mumbles, near sleep, "what was your name before?"

"I don't remember," Reid replies, honestly. He lies awake all night, fighting off dreams of his wooden, rotting prison with the sound of Luke's breathing.

===

 _"Dr. Oliver speaking."_

 _"Well, it has certainly been a while. Your accent has much improved."_

 _"Who is this?"_

 _"A Mr Snyder has been calling you, asking you to come to Oakdale, Illinois?"_

 _"That blind case, what about it?"_

 _"When was the last time you were in Illinois, Reid?"_

 _"...Lucinda Walsh?"_

 _"Luke Snyder is my grandson. If you know what's good for you, you will accept Noah Mayer's case."_

 _"You can't force me to abandon my patients."_

 _"Oh, I think I can. Have you heard of Damian Grimaldi?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _"He's Luke's father."_

 _"Shit."_

 _"And how awful would it be if the Grimaldi family were to discover your little secret."_

 _"You can't."_

 _"The next time my grandson calls, think very carefully about your answer."_


	5. Chapter 5

_He couldn't see. The specks of dirt scraped against his eyes and all he could taste was soil. His knuckles were torn apart, splinters buried beneath his broken skin. He wanted to scream, but he was gagged by earth and his vocal chords felt frozen. There were worms, wriggling against his body and he split them in two as he clawed at the dirt. His fingernails were snapping and breaking away, and he couldn't breathe, couldn't remember anything of how he got here. Maybe they'd attacked. Maybe he was trapped beneath a destroyed trench. He had to get out. He had to write his mother._

 _Scotland. The thought shot him like a bullet. Why was he in Scotland? Angus. He clawed desperately. Angus would help him. He trusted Angus. He loved Angus._

 _A fist punched through the soil above him, gripping his hand and pulling him to the surface. The dirt fell away from his eyes and the sun almost blinded him. As he adjusted to the light, still coughing on the soil, he began to make out the details of his saviour. Tall, broad shoulders. Blond hair, button nose, that smile._

 _"Luke?" he said uncertainly, his voice rough and raspy from the soil._

 _The man smiled again, still holding his hand, and went to pull him to his feet._

 _Angus came up behind him and sank his teeth into Luke's neck._

Reid doesn't know whose scream wakes him up, his or Luke's. Reid sits bolt upright, hands fisted in the cotton of his duvet, and he blinks in the darkness a few times, reassuring himself that he's not blinded beneath the ground. It's just night. He's just been sleeping.

He hears a whimper to his side, and it's then that he remembers the other scream echoing around the room. He turns his head, and Luke is curled up in the covers, naked body coated in a thin film of sweat. Reid leans over him, and sees the tears pouring down his face, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. Reid places a hand on Luke's bare shoulder and feels him trembling against his palm. He shakes Luke gently, whispering his name until Luke is pulled into consciousness. He takes Luke into his arms immediately, rocking him against his chest and making meaningless, soothing noises.

"Reid?" Luke whispers. He takes one of Reid's hands and places it on his transplant scar, and Reid runs his thumb along the length of it. Luke's hand travels back up to Reid's neck, and massages his bite marks.

"Bad dream?" Reid asks. Luke nods. "What happened?"

"I don't remember," Luke answers, too quickly for Reid to believe him, but he doesn't push the matter any further. "Are you okay?" Luke asks. "You look a bit freaked out."

"I was just worried about you," Reid says. Luke snorts a little.

"You're soppy when you're sleepy," he chuckles.

Light floods into the room, and Reid looks up, blinking. He shields Luke's face from it, curling him into his chest.

"What's going on? I heard screaming," Katie asks, cradling Jacob in her arms. Her eyes flick down to Luke and back up at Reid, a questioning eyebrow raised.

"Nothing to worry about," Reid answers. "Did I wake the kid?"

"No, he's sleeping," Katie says, "but I know if I hear Reid Oliver scream, something bad's going down."

"You screamed too?" Luke says in a small voice.

"That wasn't me," he tells Katie, trying to tell her to leave it alone with his eyes. "What about Chris? Maybe I should check on him." Luke's grip on him tightens.

"He's resting," Katie says, "and John's coming by tomorrow. I'll leave you to it."

Katie shuts the door. Reid is in the darkness again. The pads of his fingers press into Luke's skin, and he stays awake for the rest of the night.

===

"You wanted to see me?"

Bob glances up from the report he is reading, and indicates for Reid to take a seat. "Oh yes, come in."

Reid sits across from Bob, his eyes flicking to the name on the report. Natasha Ainsworth. An Oakdale University student, admitted with severe blood loss. Reid had snuck into her room that day. He found no bite marks.

"Don't worry," Bob says. "I don't suspect you. Ms. Ainsworth has a history of self-harm."

"How's Chris?" Reid asks, changing the subject.

"I should be asking you that question," Bob answers. "He's always at your place with Katie."

"He seems okay. He's a little more accepting of everything than he was a month ago," Reid says. "He's behaving perfectly normally." Reid rubs the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm worried."

"Why?"

"He won't talk about it, and if he's not talking to me, he most certainly isn't talking to you," Reid sits forward, resting his elbows on Bob's desk. "He eats normally, and feeds off the blood the hospital donates, but he never asks for it. He waits until I bring it to him. That's not good."

"I don't follow you."

"We're not made evil," Reid explains, "we're made hungry. We kill to survive, just like any other animal. If Chris doesn't learn to survive on his own, without hurting anybody, I'm afraid he might snap."

Bob is quiet for a moment. He shuts Natasha Ainsworth's file and sets it aside. "I think, given the circumstances, I won't be recommending my son as Chief of Staff when I retire."

"Really?" Reid asks, failing to hide his grin.

"Yes," Bob muses. "I will be recommending Susan Stewart."

Reid's face falls. "What?" he snaps.

"Reid, you are an incredible doctor," Bob begins, "and I have no doubt the neurology wing will be a success under your leadership. But you accepted Chris as your responsibility, and then there's the... psychological ramifications your accident had on Luke Snyder."

"Luke's okay."

"I just think Susan will be more equipped to give the hospital the time and dedication it needs."

"Bullshit."

"Okay," Bob sighs. "The fact of the matter is, you and Chris are vampires. I know that this doesn't make either of you a bad doctor, and I trust you, but if word got out to the public about you, the consequences could be catastrophic."

Reid stands, a little taken aback. "You're the first person to call us that. Vampires."

"I'm doing this to protect you. And this hospital."

Reid says nothing. He turns and heads for the door. Maybe he could squeeze in another visit to Natasha Ainsworth before he had to meet Luke.

"I'll have to inform Susan about your...condition." Bob calls after him.

"Fine," Reid says, monotone, and he closes the door behind him.

Luke is already waiting for him in the corridor, though he hasn't noticed Reid is there yet. He's trapped in some sort of argument with Alison Stewart, and Reid can't help but resent her for her surname. He distracts himself by watching Luke, noting the widening of his eyes when he gets angry or upset, and the way he gestures with his hands to emphasise a point. He catches a glimpse of the thin, white scar on his palm, from when Luke tempted him all those weeks ago. He feels a low rumbling deep within his gut, and he will have to feed tonight. He's down to feeding once a week, calling at a butcher's shop over in Carbondale, and letting his hospital allowance from Bob and John go to Chris. He won't feed in front of Luke, despite Luke's protestations, and he's already planning how he's going to make it back to the hospital without waking Luke tonight when he hears Alison's voice raise a few tones with aggitation.

"He left, Luke! Two weeks ago, and you didn't even say goodbye!"

"It's not a big deal," Luke replies. "Noah decided we couldn't be friends, not me. If he needs me, he knows where to find me."

"You can't just ignore this. You are the most important thing in his life!" Alison snaps.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't be anymore," Luke answers, and then he catches sight of Reid, running away from Alison's glare and draping his arms over Reid's collarbone, fastening his fingers together behind Reid's neck. Reid responds by placing his hands on Luke's hips. He kisses him slowly, deeply, and it's only partly for show. When he breaks away, he has to restrain himself from smirking at Alison.

"Nurse Stewart," he says, his eyes not leaving Luke as one of Luke's hands travels down to fiddle with Reid's stethoscope. "Is there any news on Natasha Ainsworth?"

"No," Alison replies shortly, storming off back to the nurse's station.

Reid gives Luke's hip a gentle shove. "Let's go."

===

"I want to show you something," Reid says. Luke lifts his head from where he is kissing a pattern across Reid's torso, and Reid pushes him upright. "Trust me," he says, sliding off the couch and heading to the drawers upon which Katie keeps photos of Brad. "We can spend the rest of the day making out."

He searches through the drawer while Luke watches him, his eyelids still heavy with lust. Reid's fingertips brush against something cold and metallic, and he takes it out of the drawer, heading back to Luke with the object hidden away inside his fist.

He sits back down, and Luke shuffles up beside him. He presses a quick kiss to Reid's neck, then rests his chin on Reid's shoulder. Reid takes a deep breath, and open his fist. A small, gold chain lies in Reid's palm. The chain is a crucifix.

"Look at me," Reid says. "Look at how not burning my skin is."

"I'm very happy for you," Luke laughs.

"It's the same with all iconography. The Star of David wouldn't work either."

"This is all very fascinating," Luke says, "but I want to be kissing you right now."

"Wait," Reid insists. "I want you to touch it."

"What? Why?"

"Just touch the chain," Reid demands.

Luke's fingers hesitate just inches from Reid's palm. He looks at Reid, a little unsure, and Reid nods his encouragement. Luke's fingertips brush the metal, and Reid hisses at the searing heat in his palm.

Luke snatches his hand back immediately, his eyes full of concern. "Reid, I'm sorry-"

"You believe in God," Reid says, cutting him off. Luke's mouth opens to speak, but no words come out. "Religious symbols don't work," Reid continues, "unless the person holding them believes in them."

"I believe in a lot of things I didn't a month ago," Luke answers.

Reid sets the chain down on the coffee table and cups Luke's cheek. "Luke," he sighs, pressing the burnt flesh against Luke's jawline.

"I have to believe something," Luke says, sounding so meek and unsure of himself, like he does when he wakes up in the middle of the night, terrified and shivering. "I need to know that, if that train had killed you, that wouldn't have been the end."

Reid presses a kiss to Luke's forehead. "Luke," he says again, and a few tears roll from Luke's eyes to splash against his hand.

"I can't believe that you would just stop," Luke sobs. "I watched you bleeding and torn apart, I didn't want you to just rot."

 _Rotting, dirty wooden walls, decomposing around him._

"I'm here," Reid soothes, pushing those images to the back of his mind. "That's never gonna happen."

Luke presses his lips to Reid's scars. "I want to be inside you," he tells them.

Reid says nothing as he takes Luke's hand, pulling him to his feet. His arms encircle Luke, hands sliding into his back pockets, and he kisses him, slow and gentle at first. Luke's hands skirt over Reid's skin, and he shivers. Reid tightens his grip.

"Are you cold?" Reid asks.

"You are," Luke says, and he lowers his hands to Reid's belt buckle. Luke unfastens Reid's fly and slides down his jeans and boxers without breaking eye contact. He sniffles, and takes a deep breath, before masking the sadness on his face with a determined, almost terrifyingly animalistic gaze. Reid continues to take it slow, his fingertips tracing lazy patterns on Luke's skin. Luke has never topped him. He wants to savour the moment.

Luke has other ideas.

Reid's chin slams against the floor as Luke wrestles him to the ground. He feels Luke's weight on the back of his thighs as he straddles him, the denim scratching against his skin. Luke lines up behind him without any preparation, his cock emerging from his fly to press against Reid's entrance. Reid feels the cold of Luke's belt buckle press against his ass as Luke pushes in. He hisses at the burning in his skin, and groans at the sensation of Luke ramming against him.

" _Fuck_ ," Reid gasps, and Luke bites down on his shoulder. One of Reid's hands grips the table leg as he raises his pelvis to meet Luke's thrusts, the table shaking with the vigour and intensity of it. Luke's not lined up correctly, isn't hitting his prostate, but the feeling is so intense and painful and _Luke_ that Reid is already close. He reaches blindly behind with his free hand, finding one of Luke's ass cheeks and digging in his fingertips. He shifts Luke's angle a little, and his head once again slams against the floor as Luke hits the spot that makes him see white. Luke his screaming his name now, a predatory howl he's never heard from those lips before, and Reid feels the hunger rising. The table shakes some more, spilling magazines onto the floor. The chain lands on the back of Reid's hand, but he doesn't feel the burn.

He hasn't fed in days. He can smell Luke behind him, face buried in his hair as he moans out his orgasm, and it would be so easy to taste him. To slice along that scar on Luke's palm and just drink.

Luke continues thrusting although he's spent, his breathing heavy with the exertion, and he chokes out, "I love you."

The hunger for Luke's blood is gone. Reid bites into his own upper arm, sucking on the wound as he rides out his orgasm. Luke collapses on top of him, and removes the chain.

===

When Reid wakes from his nightmare, the feeling of dirt weighing down on him lingers. He's slow to open his eyes this time, and the scream is trapped in his throat. Something is moving above him. He feels something tight and warm on his cock, and he peers into the darkness.

Luke is on top of him, bouncing lightly, head thrown back and mouth open in a silent moan. Luke is riding him.

"Luke," he whispers, the sensation of Luke moving on top of him starting to catch up to his hazy brain. His hand travels up Luke's chest, and he repeats his name. Luke doesn't react to Reid's touch or his words, just continues to shift his weight on Reid, his breath becoming increasingly shallow. Luke's eyes are closed, and his movements are slow, languid, lazy.

Reid works it out around the same time Luke's orgasm gushes out of him over Reid's torso. Reid is still hard as Luke flops bonelessly against his chest, and he remains buried inside Luke as he opens his eyes.

"Hi," Luke says, a sleepy smile on his face.

Reid looks at him with knitted eyebrows. "You do realise what just happened there, right?"

Luke shakes his head.

"My dick is in your ass. I've got your come all over me."

Luke says nothing, just slicks one of his fingers through his spunk on Reid's abdomen.

"You were riding me," Reid says, " _as we slept_."

"No way!" Luke laughs a little, his eyes wide. "Is that possible?"

"Apparently so."

"Wow," Luke gasps. "That's hot."

He brings his finger up to Reid's mouth, and Reid licks away the salty taste of Luke. He grins, and kisses Luke, hoping Luke can taste himself on his tongue.

"I told you I love you, right?"

===

"John, do you have a minute?"

"Not now, we have a situation."

"What is it?"

"Natasha Ainsworth. She's lost more blood."

"You let her self-harm again?"

"Dr Oliver, please give me some credit. It's curious, there isn't a single fresh cut on her."

"Who was the last person to see her?"

"According to the chart, Alison Stewart. I have to go."

"Keep me updated."

"Oh, Reid? If you see Chris, please tell him to stop by my office this afternoon. I'd like to evaluate his first week back."

===

 _His fists pummelled at the wooden panels. He couldn't see a thing, but he could feel something trying to wriggle into his ear. He couldn't breathe, and soil began to trickle in from the gaps where he'd chipped away at the wood. His hands were covered in splinters. He could feel the blood pouring over his knuckles, sliding down his skin. He screamed, but his voice was frozen. He attacked the wood: punching, kicking, even smashing his head against it. There was nothing._

 _He felt a hand close over his, halting his assault. It pulled his fist down, thumb sliding over the injuries. His body felt paralysed with fear, but he was able to turn his head to the left. Curiously, he was able to see._

 _Luke lay in the wooden box beside him, his face shining with tears, blood leaking from his torn apart jugular._

 _"Is this hell?" he asked._

Reid wakes up screaming once again, and flips on the light. He's back in his room, in his bed. Luke is still there, fighting his way to consciousness, and Reid strokes his hair, easing him out of what appears to be an equally disturbing nightmare. When Luke's eyes snap open, Reid is already there waiting for him, holding his shaking body against his own, and hoping Luke doesn't realise he is shaking too.

"Shhh," he soothes, and they begin the routine now familiar to them. He will ask Luke what he was dreaming about, and Luke will say he can't remember, though Reid knows it's the sight of a train barrelling into Reid's car, Reid lying mangled and broken on the railroad tracks. He knows Luke doesn't have the words to explain it, and he's silently happy that Luke has never heard him screaming.

Their familiar conversation is interrupted by a third scream, and Reid is tearing out of bed, dropping Luke behind, and dashing to the lounge.

"Reid!" Katie cries, stumbling into his arms and sobbing against his chest. "Oh God, Reid!"

"Katie, what's happened?"

"Jacob's here with you? Jacob's safe?" Katie sobs, hysterical.

"Katie!" Reid holds her at arms length, shaking her lightly. Only then, he realises that Katie is holding her neck. Gently, he prises her fingers away, revealing two small, circular holes in her neck.

"Fuck," he whispers. He calls for Luke, and Chris Hughes bursts through the door. Katie screams again, and Reid steps in front of her, fists clenched.

"Katie, I'm so sorry," Chris begins.

"You bastard," Reid snarls, edging closer. "What have you done?"

"She said she loved me. That she wanted to spend all eternity with me."

"So you decided to force eternity on her," Reid hisses.

"You forced it on me," Chris accuses, and Reid slams him up against the door. Katie lets out another sob, and Luke appears at Reid's bedroom door. Katie runs into his arms.

"You had a choice, I was saving you. Why would Katie choose this?"

Realisation dawns on him in an instant, and he spits in Chris' face. "You enthralled her," he accuses.

"No," Chris insists. "She loved me, even before this."

"Why, Chris?" Reid roars, and he slams Chris' head against the wood.

"I feel so...good," Chris says, his eyes wide and manic, and Reid hasn't been filled with this much hate in almost a century. "More alive than I ever did. I wanted her to share it."

"This does not feel _good_!" Reid howls at him. His fist connects with Chris' jaw and Chris falls to his knees. "It's an eternity of torment and pain and hunger, and Katie's what's supposed to make it all worth it, you piece of shit."

Chris' lip is bleeding. He wipes at it, and licks the blood from his hand.

"You've been feeding," Reid whispers. Then, louder, "Who?"

"Natasha Ainsworth," Chris cackles. "I convinced her to cut herself once. Since then, I've been using syringes. No bites."

Behind him, he can hear Katie retching.

"Get out," Reid snarls. "Pack your bags and leave. If you ever come back, I will kill you."

"This is your fault," Chris laughs. "You made me. You're my goddamn sire!" Chris staggers to his feet, and lunges for Katie. Reid chases after him, but Luke is quicker than them both, curling Katie into his side and raising the golden crucifix chain. Chris recoils, and Reid drags him away, throwing him out of the front door.

"I should have let you die," he says, his anger dissipating, and he actually feels a little sorrow as he closes the door in Chris' face.

Reid turns. Katie is peering at him from within Luke's embrace with disgust. "Get out of my house," she snaps.

"Katie," he sighs.

"Get out!" Katie screams, her fists flailing, but Luke holds her back. "I don't want you near me or my son!"

Luke lets her go as she runs into Jacob's room, slamming the door shut. Luke throws a shirt at him, and Reid can make out his distant-sounding words inviting him to Luke's mother's house, but all Reid can feel is that wooden box closing in on him again.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Hey, do you want us to be smashed to pieces! Stop it!" Reid screamed, fists curling in Luke's shirt as he forced him back against the wall. He felt the elevator closing in on him. He could smell soil and rotting wood._

 _"Wow, for somebody with nerves of steel," Luke said, taken aback, "that was pretty extreme."_

 __You have no idea _, Reid thought._

===

 _"You sold me out!" Luke accused him. "For your hospital wing, for your hero number."_

 _Reid lowered his eyes. The sun was starting to sting them, and he knew he had no way to explain to Luke, not without telling him the truth. He was_ not _going to get him caught up in the bad blood between himself and Mona Cross._

 _"Well, I hope you're happy together, you and your brilliant career. I never had a chance, did I? Not with competition like that."_

 _Reid grabbed Luke's arm, halting him. His mouth was spurting some bullshit about how he just needed Luke to wait until the hospital was sold, that he wouldn't let Luke go, but his mind was screaming,_ please, Luke. Just wait until I know Mona's not a threat. __

 _Luke didn't buy it._

===

 _"So, did they send you out here to tell me everything's gonna be alright?" Molly asked._

 _"Nope, I only say that in the operating room," Reid said, sitting down. "I never can make that claim anywhere else."_

 _"A cynical doctor, how refreshing."_

 _Reid offered her a chuckling laugh, but he'd seen the anguish in her eyes. Molly had killed Silas. Of course, Silas didn't know about Reid Oliver, but Reid knew about him. Molly probably recognised the bloodlust in Reid too, but amazingly, she wasn't scared._

 _"What did sentimentality ever do to you?" Molly asked, and Reid realised he'd been talking to her without thinking. Reid carried on the conversation, but he knew what Molly was really saying._ You understand _, he heard her say in his mind._ You've been there. If you say everything's going to be alright, it'll be alright. __

 _Reid felt the overwhelming urge to confide in Molly, but he couldn't. Luke had to know first._

===

 _"I love you," Reid said. In that moment, he decided. When he got back with the heart for Chris, he'd take Luke home, and tell him the truth._

===

 _He was suffocating again. Choking on the soil, again. He was never going to leave this place, this never-ending darkness. He couldn't see, couldn't scream. His heart was beating, but it hurt, like it shouldn't be. He was trapped, forever. He'd gone to hell._

 _The box lit up. He turned his head. The train smashed the box to pieces._

Reid wakes, once again screaming, on the couch at Lily Walsh's house. The DVD has long since finished, and the entire room is lit by the eerie blue glow of the television screen. It illuminates the contours of Luke's face, twitching in the throes of another nightmare, and Reid reaches over to lightly shake him awake, when he feels the hand. His body, numb from sleep, starts to respond, and Reid leans back, whole body tingling in excitement and fear, as Luke jerks him off in his sleep. The whole thing is horrifying and creepy, and Reid should be waking Luke up, ending the torment Reid is responsible for, but Luke's touch is addictive. He needs it. He _craves_ it...

"Luke!" Lily cries, rushing into the room. Reid reacts quickly, halting Luke's hand and he is thankful for the blanket covering them. He pulls Luke into his arms, cradling and soothing him until his trembling stops, and Reid waves Lily into the room.

Lily sits in the chair and watches them silently.

"He had a bad dream," Reid tells her, hiding his own scream. He holds Luke even tighter, stroking his hair. "He's calming down now."

Lily nods, "Would you like a drink? I don't know what I can do for you. There's some pork in the refrigerator. Maybe there's some blood in the packet."

"Water's fine," Reid replies. Lily nods again, but doesn't leave for the kitchen.

"What happened with Katie and Chris," she says, "that won't-"

"Never," Reid says immediately.

"Okay," Lily says, and for a while, they both watch Luke sleep.

"Do you trust me?" Reid asks, eventually.

"Luke does, so I do too," Lily says. "Besides, who am I to judge? I married Damian."

"What happened to Damian?"

"He's in jail," Lily replies. "Three years."

"Good," Reid mutters. At Lily's raised eyebrows, he adds, "I don't want him hurting Luke again."

"I'm sure you'll protect him," Lily says, as she heads to the kitchen for Reid's water.

"Right," Reid says, uncertain.

===

"I would like to assure the public of my absolute confidence in Dr. Oliver's work here at Oakdale Memorial Hospital, a confidence shared by my successor as Chief of Staff, Dr. Stewart..."

"And not only will Dr. Oliver head our new state-of-the-art neurology unit, he will also liase closely with me on broadening our diversity policy. As both a vampire and a gay man-"

"-Susan, my sexuality is irrelevant-"

"-Dr. Oliver understands the difficulty faced by minorities. I strive to assure the public of the facts regarding the vampire members of our society, and promise that the public can put their trust in Dr. Oliver."

"Dr. Hughes, what about your son?"

"What happened with Chris was a tragedy nobody could have anticipated, and I stand by Reid in the decision he made. My son chose to become a vampire, but was unable to accept the responsibility of such a burden. What happened is nobody's fault but his own."

"Dr. Oliver, do you have anything to say to the viewers of WOAK?"

Reid hears his beeper. He practically runs down the hallway.

===

"Hey, Nosferatu!" a voice calls after him.

"You couldn't have picked someone more attractive?" Reid snarls.

"There's nothing wrong with Nosferatu," Casey says, smiling. "I like his head; it's shiny."

"Does this conversation have a point?"

"Yes," Casey says. "Firstly, I'm offended that you would tell my fiancee about your blood fetish and not me. I'm blatantly the one who would find that awesome."

"Anything else?" Reid sighs.

"Yeah. What are your intentions towards my boy?" Casey asks, crossing his arms. Reid laughs a little.

"Are you serious?"

"Not really," Casey says with a smile. "But know this. Luke is all magic and puppies and unicorns, and you like drinking blood and black capes and shit. Somehow, he loves you for this, but if you make one single wrong move..."

"You'll what?" Reid asks, his voice low. He puffs his chest out a little, and Casey looks a little nervous.

"Just remember I've watched a lot of _Buffy_ , pal," Casey says.

"In that case, I won't dye my hair, wear leather and speak in a steadily deteriorating English accent," Reid shoots back, laughing inwardly a little at his final remark. He's not sure if he'd still be able to speak in his native accent. He doesn't want to find out.

"What? Doctor Lestat knows about pop culture?" Casey says with an overemphasised gasp.

"When you have to repeat med school every couple of decades, you start to get a bit bored," Reid explains. "By the way, there's a big puddle of puke for you to clean up in pediatrics," he says as he walks away.

===

"Okay, what's the problem? Speak slowly, there's a media circus outside, and I don't want to leave."

Reid looks up from his pager as he shuts the door behind him. Only then does he notice who his patient is.

"Not you!" the patient cries.

"Not _you_!" Reid echoes.

Henry immediately starts to pull his shirt back on, wincing in pain at the exertion. Reid steps closer.

"Hank, much as I love to see you suffer," he takes hold of Reid's right arm, halting his movements, "my oath as a doctor means I have to treat you. And I cannot leave this room."

"I want a different doctor," Henry insists.

"Shut up and let me work before I kill you," Reid snaps.

Henry pouts, letting his purple shirt fall off his shoulders. "You can't keep using that excuse."

"Are you gonna stop me?" Reid says, smirking. "Looks like a dislocated shoulder. I can't believe they called me in for _this_."

"Can we just get this over with?" Henry asks. Reid positions his hands on Henry's arm.

"Oh Hank, I had no idea the older woman could be so adventurous in bed," Reid laughs.

"You're one to judge," Henry shoots back. He hisses with pain. "How old are you, a thousand?"

Reid ignores the taunt. "Are you ready?" he asks.

Henry nods. As Reid prepares to snap his shoulder back into place, Henry asks, "Have you spoken to Bubbles?"

The room echoes with Henry's scream, as Reid puts a little more force behind the push than he intended. Reid doesn't bother to say sorry.

"You're a sadist!" Henry cries. "A vile, sadisticy vampire thing. I hate you."

"I hate you too," Reid says, making a note in Henry's chart. "How is Katie?"

"A mess," Henry says, settling a little. "You need to talk to her."

"You actually want me near your little ball of sunshine?"

"You're a bastard," Henry says, "but you need to help her. She needs to understand why this happened."

"I don't even know why," Reid says.

"I'll talk to her."

Reid rolls his eyes, "What would you know about any of this?"

"James Stenbeck is my father," Henry says in a small voice.

"You're kidding!" Reid gasps. "Bastard owes me money!"

"Well I'll give you the money," Henry says. "As long as, if I get Katie to see you, you help her."

"I will," Reid says.

"Good, because if you don't, I'll borrow an axe from Holden Snyder and chop off your face."

Reid hands Henry over a prescription for pain meds. "I'd kill you before you lifted it."

"Go turn into a bat."

===

It's December, and snow has blustered into Oakdale. Reid arrives at Snyder Farm late, his car having got stuck somewhere between the hospital and here. Stepping onto the porch, he shakes the snow off his shoes and knocks on the door.

Faith opens the door and stands smugly in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest. Reid rolls his eyes and steps past her, already distracted by the smell of Emma's cooking.

"Hey!" Faith calls after him. "Don't I have to invite you over the threshold?"

Parker glances up from the magazine he's reading, shakes his head, and his eyes are once again buried beneath the sleeping cat he sports on his head as a haircut. Reid throws himself down on the couch.

"No," he says. "And even if you did, I've been here before." He grins up at her. "In fact, Luke blew me just around where you're standing."

"Gross," Faith mutters, pulling a face, and Reid catches Parker's snort.

"Where is he?" Reid asks.

"Outside with dad," Faith says. "Ethan and Nat wanted to make snowmen."

"They'll be back soon," Parker says from behind his magazine. He flips his fringe out of his eyes as he mutters, "I hope."

"Seriously," Reid says, and he can't hold it in any longer. "What _is_ that poor creature you have strapped to your face?"

"I know where Emma's hidden the pie," Parker counters, and Reid's face lights up.

"Okay, you can stay, I like you."

"Can vampires eat pie?" Faith asks. She tucks her feet up on the armchair seat, and leans forward on the armrest. Reid shuffles away a touch. He's seen many things in his life, but few are as scary as an inquisitive Snyder sibling.

"Yes, we eat pie," Reid replies, at least relieved that he's not being asked about Luke's honour. Again.

"Do you drink blood out of wine bottles so nobody suspects?" Faith asks. Parker coughs on his drink. Reid groans.

"Are you serious?"

"I mean before you came out," Faith continues. "Well, not _came out_. You probably did that in about 1650 or something, but when Dr Hughes went crazy and everyone wanted to go after you with pitchforks and-"

"You babble worse than your brother," Reid interrupts. "And no. Even if the whole town didn't know about me, I wouldn't hide blood in wine bottles. That's a depraved idea that only a Snyder mind could conjure up."

Faith is silent for a few moments, the only noise in the room being the crackling of the fire and Parker turning the pages of his magazine. Faith is still staring at him, and Reid's hands begin to twist in his lap. He's never had to handle any of Luke's family (besides Lucinda. And that time with Molly) alone before, and they had to stick him with the teen tearaway first. He's thankful for Parker's presence in the room, which is really saying something, considering Reid could count the things he knows about Parker Snyder on two fingers. 1. His name is Parker Snyder. 2. Reid is pretty sure his hair is breathing.

Eventually, Faith breaks the silence.

"Do you sparkle?"

A noise in the kitchen thankfully distracts them, and Ethan bursts through the doors, jumping into Reid's lap and slamming a snowball into his face. He hears Luke laugh and any anger inside him dissipates.

"Hi Edward!" Ethan smiles at him, and the anger is back. Reid turns to Luke, a stare so sharp it could cut glass in his eyes.

"Don't blame me!" Luke insists. "It was all Faith!"

"And you think you've got the screwed up one," Parker mutters to him, standing up and heading to the kitchen for another drink.

Ethan slides off Reid's lap and sits on the floor with Natalie. They have the chess board out on the table, and Reid can't help but feel proud. He grabs a passing Luke by the hand and pulls him down onto his lap. Luke's arms wrap around Reid's neck, and he presses his cheek against Reid's.

"Your face is cold," Luke says.

"So's yours," Reid replies, and turns his head, lips brushing against Luke's freezing, chapped lips. He runs his tongue over the broken skin, and Luke parts his lips, granting Reid access. Reid slides a hand up to Luke's hair, slipping off Luke's bobble hat and twisting his fingers in the blond locks. Luke needs a haircut soon. Luke presses Reid deeper into the cushions, raising himself over Reid with a knee on either side of his lap. Reid clutches Luke's sweater in his fingers and pulls Luke closer, when he hears Faith's whine.

"Dad!" she cries. "Luke and his dead boyfriend are making out on the couch and it's freaky!"

"Leave them alone, Faith," Holden says, entering the lounge with a hot water bottle for Natalie, who has started sneezing.

"You don't let me make out with Parker in front of everybody!"

Parker, who had just re-entered the room, heads back into the kitchen.

"Dad's very understanding of your needs," Luke says, looking deep into Reid's eyes. "About how you require physical contact to control the symptoms of your condition."

"What?" Reid whispers, and Luke pinches the skin on the back of his neck. "Oh! Yes, I was beginning to feel very strange at the hospital. It's a good thing I got here when I did." And then Luke's mouth is back on his, and Reid can feel Luke laughing against his lips.

"How does that work?" Faith snips.

"Faith," Holden says in a stern voice. "Reid is both a vampire and a doctor. I think he knows more about this than you do."

Parker nudges the kitchen door open. "Emma says the food will be a half hour." Reid stomach grumbles, loud enough for the whole room to hear. Faith, Parker and Holden look a little nervous. Reid rolls his eyes.

"I'm anticipating the pie," he explains.

"So Reid," Holden begins, trying his best to maintain polite conversation when his son is licking and nipping at Reid's neck. "Where are you staying these days?"

"Somedays at the Lakeview, and some days at Lily's with Luke," Reid answers, and Holden nods his head.

"Still no luck with Katie?" he asks. Reid doesn't answer. "Well, you're welcome to stay here any time you like."

"Are you insane?" Faith snaps.

"Don't worry, Queen of the Damned," Reid says. "If I was going to feed off anybody here, it would be a fine, upstanding country boy like Holden here. Teenage hormones make your blood taste funky."

Luke barks out a laugh, and Parker almost doubles over in silent giggles at the offended look on Faith's face.

"Dad, are you going to let him speak to me like this?"

"Until you learn to treat him with respect, yes," Holden says, wiping a few tears of laughter from his eyes.

Reid feels a tug at his damp jeans, and looks down past the still chuckling Luke on his lap to see Ethan gazing up at him.

"Edward," he says, "do you fight werewolves?"

"Ethan, his name is Reid," Holden tells him, reaching down to ruffle his hair.

"All the time," Reid says. "In fact, you know all that hair on Parker's head? On the full moon, that hair's gonna appear all over his body."

"Parker's a werewolf!" Natalie screams.

"I'll get him, Reid Edward," Ethan yells, charging at Parker and chasing him up the stairs.

When Reid turns back to Luke, there's a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Call Katie," Luke whispers to him.

"No."

===

 _"Reid?" Luke asked._

 _They were stood together on a grassy hillside. Reid recognised it immediately. Saddleworth Moor, in the North West of England. Behind Luke, in the distance, he could see the cotton mill where a grieving couple worked. Their son, the boy who shared his face, had died at war. They never received his body._

 _Luke obscured the mill from his view. He stepped closer, his hands resting lightly on Reid's chest._

 _"Look behind you," Luke whispered. Reid turned._

 _He was in the Scottish highlands. Luke's arms enveloped him from behind, his lips pressing butterfly kisses to Reid's neck. Reid stared straight ahead. There was a grave in front of him. The earth had been disturbed. The headstone was blank._

 _"It's okay," Luke whispered to him. "I've got you."_

 _Reid turned his head to press a kiss to Luke's lips, and was met with a flash of white hair, an aging face, a predatory snarl._

 _"You're mine, Red," Angus hissed, pushing him to the ground. Reid sank beneath the soil, screaming._

He wakes quietly this time, with the immediate image of Luke's bedroom filling his vision as his eyes snap open. The sight calms him instantly, and Reid brings his fingers to his pulse, feeling the slow, faint beat. He's okay, Luke's...

Luke is not in the bed with him, and Reid panicks. He dashes out of the bed, throwing open the doors to his wardrobe, checking under the bed, in Luke's dresser, places Reid knows rationally Luke could never be, but rational thinking is the last thing on Reid's mind right now. He needs Luke. He needs his touch, his scent and his taste.

Reid gets the sudden thought that maybe the nightmare killed him.

He calms himself when he sees the collection of photographs on Luke's wall. His eyes skim over images of Luke, Casey and Will in high school, and for once, Reid feels nothing when he sees Noah's face staring back at him. He focuses his energy on one photograph in the middle. It's the two of them at Holden and Molly's non-wedding. Natalie had insisted that they take photographs, to pass the time until Holden actually arrived, and she'd captured Reid with his cheeks crammed with cookies, Luke by his side rolling his eyes. Reid focuses on the photograph, on the domesticity that still scares and disgusts, but anchors him, and feels the anxiety dissipate. Lily's home is huge, Luke could be anywhere.

Reid shuffles to Luke's en suite bathroom to splash water on his face, stare at himself in the mirror and laugh at the idea that his kind don't have reflections. He wishes he could joke about it with Katie.

As he edges the door open, he finds his answers. Luke is on his knees, bent over the lowered toilet seat. One hand is steadying himself on the wall, the other reaching behind him, sliding down between his ass cheeks. Luke is rocking slowly, gently, and as Reid takes a tentative step onto the cold tiles, he sees three of Luke's fingers bury themselves inside Luke's ass. His cock twitches at the sight, but then his eyes flicker to Luke's face. Luke's eyes are closed, but his face is much too relaxed, too slack, to be awake. Reid settles down next to him, stopping the movement of his arm. He hears Luke whimper, and cradles his face with his other hand, whispering his name until he wakes.

Luke's eyes shine with tears and tiredness as he meets Reid's gaze. "They took your eyes," he begins, quietly. "Someone else got to see the world through your eyes."

"Luke, it was a dream," Reid says, shifting Luke so that he settles between Reid's legs, back against his chest, on the floor.

"Reid?" Luke asks. "Why am I hard?"

"Because I'm here, obviously," Reid laughs, and kisses his shoulder. "Want me to take care of it?"

"No," Luke says, wrapping his palm around his erection, "I'll do it. Just stay here."

Reid settles back against the tiles, watching as Luke strokes himself. He presses kisses to Luke's skin, and moans noises of encouragement into his ear. Reid has no idea how long Luke had been fucking his fingers for, but he can tell Luke is close already. He lowers one hand down Luke's side, and runs a finger over Luke's transplant scar. Luke cries out, spilling over his hand. Reid takes hold of Luke's wrist, raising his hand and licking it clean.

Luke turns and grins dopily at him. "I like it when you do that."

"Do what?" Reid asks.

"Touch my scar," Luke answers. "Makes it feel...worth it."

"The fact that you have a functioning kidney makes your scar worth it," Reid says. "Finding it hot is an added bonus."

"Your scars are hot," Luke says, yawning. "Are they worth it?"

Reid says nothing.

===

"Dr. Oliver, do you have a moment?"

Reid turns away from his microwave meal to find John lingering in the doorway of the break room. Wordlessly, Reid gestures for him to enter.

"I received your email," John continues. "It was very...intense."

"I appreciate you don't want to hear about the sexual habits of your sort-of grandson, but..."

"It sounds like classic projecting to me," John interrupts. Reid sits at a table with him, shovelling chunks of microwaved meat into his mouth. What he wouldn't give for a sandwich.

"My nightmares are manifesting in Luke because of some psychic connection?" Reid asks.

"More a shared consciousness. Psychic isn't the word for it, but sharing such a deep emotional bond with someone of your...abilities, unlocks a great deal of potential," John explains. "Luke loves you, that's obvious, and your subconscious is so desperate to share everything with him, that any past pain in your life now becomes his."

"But we're dreaming different things," Reid says. "My nightmares are about my death. His are about the train crash."

"Projecting is an emotional phenomenon," John replies. "Luke's subconscious is receiving all of the emotions you feel, but he has no frame of reference to dream your dreams, so these dreams manifest themselves in something he has experienced. Something he fears."

"How do I stop it?" Reid asks.

"You don't," John says. "The only way you can stop Luke from having these dreams is to stop having them yourself. You'll find that the dreams are less frequent the happier you are, but to end them for good, you need some sort of closure." John stands again, heading for the door.

"What about the whole," Reid stammers a little, "sleep-trance-sex-thing."

"That's probably connected," John says. "It's just another manifestation of your subconscious, this time your lust, which is biologically stronger than the average person." John opens the door. "Or you two could just be really kinky."

===

By the time he's out of surgery, the streets of Oakdale are practically deserted. It's way too late to find Luke, so Reid psyches himself up for the prospect of a night alone at the Lakeview. He doesn't sleep in the hotel room, ever. When he's alone, Reid freely admits that the nightmares terrify him, and not having Luke's warm body to anchor him when he wakes, screaming and shaking, terrifies him further. But given John Dixon's words, Reid decides it's probably best for Luke to not stay with him right now. The grave is one thing, but hearing that strangled cry tear from Luke's throat, because of _his_ memories, and _his_ conscience disgusts him.

There had to be a way to stop projecting onto Luke. Figuring out how, Reid decides as he unlocks the door to his suite, will be what keeps him awake tonight.

As he opens the door, he finds a blonde on his bed.

"Katie?" he asks, after a beat.

Katie lifts her head, and Reid is struck by just how different she looks. The bags under her eyes are prominent, her hair lank and her clothes shabby. Henry's concern about her was, by all accounts, an understatement. "Hi Reid," she all-but whispers, twisting her fingers in the fabric of Reid's duvet.

"How did you get in here?" Reid asks.

"Luke."

Reid nods, and steps into the room. He removes his jacket, tossing it unceremoniously onto the chair. He heads over to the small refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of beer. After removing the cap, he turns back to Katie.

"Why are you here?"

Katie is back to staring at her hand. "Henry," she says.

Reid takes a swig of his beer, then sets it down on the dresser. "Okay," he begins. "Let's get it over with. A stake through the heart is more difficult than it looks, so I'd recommend beheading me. I'd like a final phone call, if you'll allow me."

Katie chuckles a little. "To Luke?"

"Hell no," Reid laughs back. "To my attorney. If you kill me, I'm not letting you take all my stuff."

"You mean one bag containing three shirts and a photograph of yourself with 'I am the greatest' written on it?" Katie says.

"I'm sorry," Reid blurts out, before he even works out what he's apologising for. Is it for failing to protect her? For failing Chris? For existing at all?

"Reid..."

"Nothing I say or do will make things better, but I will do anything you ask. I promise."

"Then say yes," Katie says. Reid quirks an eyebrow.

"Yes?" he says, a little unsure.

"Great!" Katie says, and finally that beaming Peretti smile is back. "Pack your three shirts."

"Wait, what happened here?" Reid asks.

"You're moving back in with me," Katie tells him, still grinning. Her smile falters a little, and she takes Reid's hand, pulling him down to sit next to her. "Henry helped me see more clearly," she says. "What happened with Chris wasn't your fault. He put you in an impossible situation, lying about his heart, and you did the only thing you could to save his life."

"Katie, I-" Reid says, but then he freezes, because there are no words to apologise enough, just as he will never find the right words to wipe that image of him after the train crash from Luke's mind. Reid's capillaries feel like they're tingling, alive with someone else's blood. He needs to hear Katie forgive him, he finds. He craves it more than he has ever craved anything in his life.

"And then he put you in an impossible situation again," Katie continues, as if Reid had never spoken at all. "You couldn't have stopped him. That behaviour was a part of Chris long before you turned him. I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"Katie, I should have told you."

"Yeah, probably," Katie says, "but Luke said you didn't tell him until the train hit. I wish you'd shared it with someone sooner. You shouldn't have had to deal with this alone."

"I dealt with it alone for almost a century," Reid replies.

Katie curls into Reid's side, resting her head against Reid's shoulder. "Not anymore. Thanks to my big mouth, the whole of Oakdale knows. And when everyone seemed to be fine with it, I realised I'd made a mistake."

"I've killed people," Reid says.

"And you've saved them," Katie counters. "Look, we have all the time in the world to discuss this. Just be my friend again?"

"Of course," Reid says. He presses a kiss to Katie's hair.

"So," Katie says with a smirk, "you and Luke."

"Me and Luke," Reid echoes.

"Is there some kind of vampire rule about constant PDAs?" Katie asks. "Because I've gotta be honest, Henry's been hoping you could maybe do a reverse of Noah's operation on him. He's been considering pouring bleach on his eyes."

Reid laughs. "I feel the same whenever I see his shirts." He pauses a moment, and sighs. "Luke's...fragile. There's a lot of stuff going on there, too much to explain now, but what it boils down to is, I think I'm hurting him by loving him."

"You can't love somebody too much," Katie insists.

"You don't get it, Katie. This is so much more than love. This is an addiction, a necessity," Reid nudges Katie away and flops back against the mattress. "If I don't love him," he says in a small voice, "I'll kill him. I need him and it's hurting him."

"Are you talking about the dreams?" Katie asks, lying down next to Reid.

"Partly," Reid says, "I'm working on stopping those. But he can't be near me without touching me. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but ever since he found out what I am, and especially since we had sex, it's been like he can't function without me."

"He can," Katie says, "he just doesn't want to. I was exactly the same with Brad."

"Katie, Brad died. I'm still here."

"But you still died once," Katie says. She cups Reid's cheek, a gesture he always attributes to Luke. "Luke knows that, and though the train didn't kill you, in a way it did. Every perception he had of you changed when that happened. It's like the Reid he fell in love with died, and was replaced by someone else. Someone else he's even more in love with, but still a different person. Everything he knew about you was a lie." Katie sighs. "That Reid is dead. Let Luke grieve for him, before he can move on with the new Reid."

"Do you grieve for the old me?" Reid asks.

"No," Katie says immediately. "I like the new you. You talk about love without vomiting."

"Don't get used to it," Reid says. He sits up, pulling Katie with him, then leans down to pull his duffel bag out from under the bed. "I'll be back to insulting everybody in this town by tomorrow."

"I missed you," Katie beams.

"You too," Reid smiles back. "And the brat."

"I should have trusted you with Jacob."

"No, you shouldn't," Reid replies. "If you did, you'd be a bad mother."

"Then I'm a bad mother."

Reid gulps down the rest of his beer, and begins to pack his few belongings into the bag. "I'm sorry about Chris," he says.

"The only person responsible is Chris himself. Besides, I'm seeing someone else now."

"Oh, great," Reid rolls his eyes. "Another unwelcome face from my past?"

"No," Katie replies. "One from mine. Simon, my ex-husband. He's Australian."

Reid ponders for a moment. "Will calling him Bruce annoy him?"

"Yes."

"Then I shall call him Bruce," Reid says, as he ushers Katie out of the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Nine months ago**

"Reid?"

"Yeah?" Reid answers, head buried in the paperwork Susan had provided for him about care for vampire patients. The woman was too politically correct for her own good. At one point, she had referred to Reid's kind as "mortally challenged", a phrase which set him off laughing for five solid minutes.

"Why aren't there any fat vampires?"

Reid looks down at Luke's head in his lap, and throws the paperwork over him onto the coffee table. "It's biological," he says, and his fingers slide into Luke's hair, massaging his scalp.

"How so?"

"Well, a lot of us live purely off blood, which isn't exactly fattening," Reid says. "But even those of us who eat food, we don't need anything from it. Everything that goes in comes out again."

Luke sits up. "Are you saying that if you eat a sandwich, it comes out the other end as a sandwich?"

"Of course not," Reid says, cupping his cheek. "A sandwich is impossible to swallow whole."

"You know what I mean," Luke says. He presses a quick kiss to Reid's lips. "Would it still be...edible?"

Reid rolls his eyes. "I'm not even going to answer that."

Luke clambers into his lap. "Tell me!"

"Don't you have something better to be doing?"

"Tell me!" Luke says again, his fingers tickling Reid below his ribs.

"Vampires aren't ticklish," Reid tells him.

"Liar," Luke says with a smirk. He pushes Reid down against the cushions of the couch, straddling him. A hand travels up to stroke the scars on Reid's neck, and Reid squirms beneath him, his eyes growing wide. Luke smiles broadly at him, laying his body on top of Reid's and maintaining eye contact. The teasing has left his eyes, and his touch becomes more gentle.

"I love you," Luke says.

"Love you too," Reid chokes out. He closes his eyes and jerks his hips up against Luke. "Keep doing that," he insists, grabbing Luke's wrist and keeping his hand (the scarred one, he notes) by his neck.

Luke's nose brushes against his, and when Reid opens his eyes, all he sees are Luke's eyes, almost black, his pupils so wide in desire. "I am so hot for you right now," Luke breathes. Reid captures his lips in a kiss.

"Hey," a voice says. They break the kiss as they hear the door close.

Reid tucks Luke into his favourite position, curled into Reid's side, and Luke presses butterfly kisses to his neck.

"G'day Bruce!" Reid says, with a forced cheeriness.

Simon rolls his eyes and heads into the kitchen. "I'm not paying for that couch to be steam cleaned again."

"Last time it was your fault," Reid calls out to Simon, whose head is buried inside the refrigerator in a manner not unlike Reid.

"Eww," Luke mutters.

"Yes Luke," Reid says, cradling Luke. "Katie had sex with an Australian in our home. I am shocked and appauled."

"This isn't _our_ home," Luke says quietly.

"May as well be," Simon mutters. He closes the refrigerator door. "Reid, I had a six-pack in there."

"Hey," Reid says, throwing up a hand in defense. "I've had surgeries all week. I haven't had time to drink."

"I don't mind if you took them," Simon says, sitting down with a can of soda. "I'll just have to phone Katie, ask her to pick some up on her way home."

"I didn't drink your beer," Reid insists. Luke shifts uncomfortably against him. "Luke?"

"I promise, I'll pay for them," Luke mumbles.

"You didn't," Reid asks, his hand resting on Luke's t-shirt where he knows the transplant scar lies beneath.

"No," Luke says. "Casey came over the other night, when I was looking after Jacob. Sorry."

"No worries, mate," Simon says. He takes a sip of his soda, and his gaze darts between Reid and Luke, and the coffee table littered with papers. "I see you two have been busy."

"I see you haven't," Reid shoots back. "Where is Katie anyway?"

"At the station, with Margo," Simon replies. "Will Munson called. He said he thought he spotted Chris Hughes in Carbondale."

"You're not serious," Reid says, sitting up. "Fuck."

"Relax mate," Simon says. "If there's anything to worry about, Katie said she'd call you right away." Simon sets down his soda and heads towards the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower. Try not to be naked when I come out."

"Why not?" Reid says, smiling. "You will be."

"Reid?" Luke says when Simon leaves, his voice small.

"No," Reid snaps.

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes I do," Reid says. Luke's arms wrap around his shoulders from behind, and he feels Luke's breath against the shell of his ear. "You think I should have killed him."

"He's dangerous," Luke whispers.

"So is your dad," Reid says, then corrects himself. "I mean, Damian. Could you kill him?"

"No, but Chris..."

"...is a vampire, so it's different," Reid finishes for him. "We're not evil, we're not demons. Chris's decisions are a part of who he is, not what he's become. I've no doubt he's killed people, but I can't kill him."

"Because it's still murder?"

"I'm his sire," Reid explains. "Much as I hate him, there's a connection there. We're family. Just like you and Damian."

"I get it," Luke says.

"But if he comes near you or Katie again, I won't think twice about killing him."

=====

 **Seven months ago**

 _On the highlands, Reid was encased in glass. His clear coffin stood vertically, facing his own grave. He couldn't read the name on his stone. The grave was empty, a wide hole in the earth, and Reid screamed at the sight of it. Nobody could hear him._

 _Hands emerged from the hole, clutching at piles of soil. Reid's eyes widened as Luke was thrown against the wall of dirt, bending double over it, his legs still inside the hole and his face pressed into the grass above. He was naked. Chris Hughes emerged from the hole behind him. He lowered his trousers and slammed into Luke, pulling at his hair with one hand, scratching deep cuts that drew blood with his other. Chris winked at Reid in his glass prison then bent down to lick the blood away._

 _Reid's gaze tore away from the scene and returned to the tombstone. Angus was sat on top of it, laughing. When Reid's eyes returned to Luke, he was laughing too._

Reid jolts awake, closely followed by Luke. He calms himself before soothing Luke, taking in deep, unnecessary breaths and rubbing his hands over his face. He turns onto his side, curling an arm around Luke's torso, and presses kisses to Luke's shoulder.

"Stay calm," he whispers. "Just another dream."

"Reid," Luke gasps, hands clutching at Reid's. Even in the moonlight, Reid can see his fingers are white.

"I'm here," Reid says against Reid's skin. "Want to talk about it?"

"No," Luke insists, which only reminds Reid that he still hasn't told Luke about his own nightmares. "I'm going to get some water."

As Luke slips out of the bed and heads into the kitchen, Reid can't help but notice that Luke is obviously, painfully hard.

Reid lies back against the pillow, his fingers locked together behind his head. The nightmares are less frequent now, one every week or so, but they're getting more and more intense. Reid feels Luke pulling away from him. He leaves the room every time he wakes from one. Reid thinks about calling John in Amsterdam about it, but figures Luke will come to him eventually.

Reid gets up and stands in the hallway. Luke's not in the kitchen anymore, but Reid, as ever, can hear the retching sounds from the bathroom. Once again, he tries the door, but it's locked. A few minutes later, Luke emerges, still a little pale and shaky but more relaxed. Reid kisses him.

"You taste like mint," Reid says, feeling the cold tingle of toothpaste on his tongue.

"You taste like Reid," Luke counters. He smiles at him, and wordlessly drops to his knees, kissing the spot just above the waistband of Reid's boxers, his soft exhale tickling the hair there. Reid's hand slides into Luke's hair, his back slamming against the bathroom door, and Luke tugs down his boxers, taking Reid into his mouth. The cool freshness of the toothpaste feels pleasant on his dick, and he lets out a low groan as Luke takes him in deeper. One of Luke's hands trails light fingers up Reid's thigh, before shifting over to cup Reid's balls. Luke gives them a little squeeze, and Reid has to stifle a cry as he fills Luke's mouth, hips jutting forward with the momentum of his orgasm. Luke swallows him down eagerly, and Reid gives his hair a light tug, encouraging him to stand up. Reid takes Luke's face into his hands and kisses him slowly, allowing time for his tongue to explore every crevice of Luke's mouth. He pulls back and grins.

"Now you taste like Reid too," he says. Luke nudges his nose, them both looking down at where Luke's erection is still stretching the material of his underwear.

"Let me fuck you," Luke whispers.

"Are you okay?" Reid asks.

"Let me fuck you," he repeats.

"Okay," Reid says with a nod, leading him back to the bedroom.

=====

 **Three months ago**

"That's a stupid idea," Reid says with a roll of his eyes, picking up his coffee. Susan follows him out of the break room.

"A rehabilitation programme is a valuable addition to this hospital," she insists.

"Not when I'm the only vampire in Oakdale," Reid says.

"That we know of," Susan counters. "There may be plenty of others in the closet, and this could show them that there's plenty of support out there."

Reid's eye catches Luke emerging from one of the hospital rooms, and he forces his coffee into Susan's hand, heading over to him.

"Are you okay?" Reid asks, his thumb brushing over Luke's cheek.

"Fine," Luke replies. "I had an appointment with my nephrologist."

"Oh," Reid muttters, his hand falling to rest against Luke's transplant scar.

"Scheduled check-up," Luke tells him. "Nothing to worry about."

"Can we pretend it is?" Reid asks him. "Only, I need to escape Susan and her whole 'I want to understand you' routine."

"Sure," Luke laughs. "You can take me home and make me feel better. With your penis."

"You learnt the art of subtlety from Casey, didn't you?"

"Damn straight," Luke says. "Oh, I saw Katie earlier. There's been another sighting of Chris."

"Where?"

"New York," Luke says and shrugs. "Nothing to worry about."

Reid looks a little nervous. "Where in New York?"

"She didn't say," Luke says. "He's not in Oakdale, what does it matter?"

"It doesn't," Reid nods.

=====

 **One week ago**

"Go ahead," Reid says, his fingers pressed against his lips, elbows resting on his knees. Katie rests her head on Reid's shoulder, Simon holding her hand beside her. Luke's family: Holden, Lily, Ethan, Natalie and a visiting Abigail, sit on the other side of the waiting room, pale and deathly quiet.

"It's renal failure," Dr. Benson says, looking down at his feet. "Reid, he needs a transplant."

"Oh God," Lily cries, and Ethan hugs her leg.

"Fine," Reid says. "I'm not using my kidney."

"Dr. Oliver, even if you were a match, you know that's not actually possible," Dr. Benson says. "Your kidney's been dead for almost a century."

"I know," Reid sighs. The heels of his palm rub against his eyes.

Dr. Benson turns to the Snyders. "We'd like to test his family, if you don't mind."

Holden clears his throat. Dr. Benson is pretty new in town. "Most of Luke's family aren't blood relatives."

"You can test me," Lily pipes up. "And I'll call Faith. Is Natalie too young?"

"Reid?" Katie whispers into his ear.

"I know," he whispers back.

=====

 **Six days ago**

"I'm sorry," Luke says.

Reid, lies beside him in Luke's hospital bed, fingers tracing the long scar across Luke's palm. "You had a black market kidney," Reid says. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is," Luke insists, a few tears escaping from his eyes as his voice cracks. "I drank."

Reid's been expecting this confession since Luke was first admitted, and stays silent, encouraging Luke to go on with a kiss to his temple.

"It's the nightmares," Luke says, his voice shaky. "You die in them, and there's nothing I can do. But when I wake up, I'm hard. I'm turned on. And it scares me."

Reid nods, a sick feeling in his stomach. Luke's kidney has failed, and it's all his fault, with his stupid fucking projecting.

"So I'd tell you I needed some water," Luke continues, "and I'd go and have a drink. Then I'd go into the bathroom and pretend to be sick, so I could clean my teeth. Then you'd taste mint, and not alcohol."

"Fuck," Reid mutters, and he feels like slicing into his own abdomen, ripping out his useless kidneys and offering them to Luke.

"If anyone asked, like when Simon did, I'd blame the missing beer on Casey," Luke says. He turns his head to Reid, eyes shining with tears, and buries his head in Reid's chest. "I'm so sorry," he cries, and Reid can't say or do anything but listen.

=====

 **Four days ago**

"I'm afraid you're not a match, Miss Walsh," Dr. Benson says. Holden envelopes her in his arms as she sobs. "Your daughter, Faith, is," he continues.

"Great!" Holden says with a smile. "What are we waiting for?"

"There's...a complication," Susan tells them. Katie clutches Reid's hand. "Faith had drugs in her system."

Reid glares at Faith, while Lily lets out a soft moan. Parker looks aghast, but Abigail places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Is there anything we can do?" Holden asks.

"We can place him on the waiting list," Dr. Benson suggests, awkwardly fiddling with his glasses, "but it's not looking positive."

"There is something you haven't tried," Alison pipes up. All eyes turn to her and Casey. "Damian."

"Yeah," Casey says, smiling, "and he has a cousin. Zoe or Gia or whatever her name is."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Benson says. "Damian?"

"Damian Grimaldi," Holden answers. "Luke's biological father."

Reid feels like he is falling.

=====

 **Thirteen years ago**

 _Reid moved his piece to another square. "Checkmate," he said, with a smirk._

 _"Congratulations," Damian said, sounding bored. "Now, the information."_

 _"There's a gang out in Beacon Hill. Pretty tough guys, you'll need to be on your guard."_

 _Damian nodded. He waved a hand to his left, and Marco marked the location on his map._

 _"Then there's an underground club in Roslindale. Kids with a biting fetish getting paid to be drank from."_

 _"Disgusting," Damian spat, and Reid made a small noise of agreement. "Thank you, Mr. Oliver," Damian said, handing Reid the envelope. "Your information is most helpful."_

 _"Not a problem," Reid said. He opened the envelope and started counting the money inside._

 _"You're a student at Harvard, yes?" Damian asks. "You seem so mature."_

 _"I don't look my age," Reid said. He slipped the money back into the envelope and stood to leave._

 _"Well, I hope to hear from you again soon," Damian said, and shakes his hand. Gianni appeared behind him, knife in hand._

 _"Good luck," Reid said._

=====

 **Two days ago**

"Gia refused to be tested," Dr. Benson tells them. "Damian agreed."

"And?" Lily asks.

"It's bad news," Dr. Benson tells them.

Lily breaks down into tears again, and Reid has had just about enough of her crying. He breaks away from the group, heading over to the empty nurse's station. He drops his head into his hands, and behind his lids, he can see the soil again. He's shaking, and his knuckles are white. His heart has stopped beating, and Reid doesn't even pretend that it matters. He can hear Angus' laughter ringing in his ears.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, and lifts his head to meet Casey's gaze.

"It's not over yet," Casey tells him. "There still could be a donor out there."

"Not bloody likely," Reid says, and Casey's mouth drops open. "What?"

"You just spoke in a English accent," Casey says.

"Did I?" Reid asks. He shrugs. "Oh."

"Call grandpa in Arizona," Casey advises him. "Or John. There are other options." He looks into Reid's eyes for a long moment, and walks away.

=====

 **Yesterday**

"Reid?"

"Hi John."

"Holden told us about Luke. I'm sorry."

"Sure you are."

"Are you sure you've considered _all_ of your options?"

"No. Not after Chris. I can't."

"Dr. Oliver? It's Lucinda Walsh. Now you listen to me."

"Listening."

"Luke is very dear to me, and I will not allow him to be hurt again. You do whatever it takes to save him. Whatever it takes."

"But..."

"The men who killed Martin were monsters. Luke isn't one. He doesn't deserve to die."

"It's Luke's choice, not yours."

"Then make sure he chooses wisely."

=====

 **Today**

Before he enters Luke's hospital room, Lily stops him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Save my boy," she begs. Behind her are the Snyder clan, Casey and Alison, Katie, Simon and Henry. Unexpectedly, Henry gives him a little thumbs up. Reid nods, and pushes the door handle.

Luke wakes when the door clicks shut. He looks tiny amongst all the tubes and machinery, and his eyelids are heavy, struggling to stay open. He hasn't got long left, days at the most, and still he is smiling.

"Hey," he croaks.

"Hey," Reid says back. "There's an entire audience outside."

"All crying," Luke manages to say.

"You're a one-man Shakespearian tragedy," Reid jokes, but neither of them laugh.

"No kidney?" Luke asks. Reid shakes his head.

"Not yet," he says.

"Not ever," Luke replies, and the fact that he still smiles as he says it has Reid trembling.

"There are other options," Reid begins, and he swallows the lump in his throat. His tongue runs over his slightly sharp teeth, and he feels sick. "Everyone else thinks it's the best option, but-"

"Do it," Luke whispers.

"Chris," Reid says, and the one word silences them both. The only sounds in the room come from the machinery, and Reid looks back to the window, where Holden watches them. He turns back to Luke, who is staring at the ceiling. Luke licks his dry lips, and closes his eyes, inhaling sharply.

"Do it," he insists.

Reid closes the blinds, and tentatively makes his way over to Luke's bed. He leans over, and presses a gentle kiss to each of Luke's eyelids. Luke's breathing becomes more rapid and shallow, and Reid can tell from the EKG that his heart is pounding fiercely in his chest. He kisses Luke, slow and careful, until he starts to relax, and brings Luke's hand up to his scarred neck.

"I love you," he says against Luke's lips. "So, so much."

Luke's eyes fly open as Reid's teeth sink into his neck.


	8. Chapter 8

Reid feels Luke's fingernails scratching at his back as he drinks him down. He twists his fingers into Luke's too-long hair, resting the other on Luke's shoulder. He tugs at his hair, pushing Luke's shoulder down to stretch the wound, and feels Luke's blood gushing into his mouth, across his teeth, sparking on his tongue and slipping down his throat. Luke groans, pressing down on the back of Reid's neck to fix him into place. His legs are wrapped around Reid's torso, back forced against the headboard of Reid's bed, and Reid feels his tongue flicking out, desperately trying to reach any bit of Reid's skin that he can.

Reid pulls back and kisses Luke with wet, red lips. He brushes a strand of Luke's hair out of his face and grins.

"You need a haircut," he says.

"You don't like pulling it?"

Luke brings his hand up to his own neck, then wipes the blood on Reid's chest, dipping his head to clean it away with his tongue.

"I refuse to spend the rest of eternity with someone who looks like he's in a boyband," Reid says, and Luke laughs.

"Eternity?" he asks, his voice sweeter and more innocent than the situation allows.

"You're stuck with me," Reid says, and kisses him again.

He pulls Luke down to lie across the bed with him, Luke curled into his side. Luke's nose nudges at the scars on his neck. "Go ahead," he whispers, and feels Luke's teeth struggling to break the skin, having not yet fully developed. "I'm not a tough steak," Reid jokes, and brings his hand up to the side of Luke's face. "You need to be quick, and forceful. It's like a stab, not a tear."

Luke tries another few times, letting out a few whimpers of longing as Reid's hand guides him. On his fifth attempt, Reid feels Luke's canines sinking into his skin, and closes his eyes. The only sound in the room is a light slurping as Luke laps at his neck, and Reid feels a rumble down by his vocal chords that hasn't yet escaped his mouth. He reaches down, stroking himself as Luke's mouth encloses over the wound, kissing and sucking and swallowing. Luke pushes himself up, mouth still fastened to Reid's neck, and hitches his leg over to straddle Reid. He presses his own erection against Reid's, circling his hips to rub against him. Reid takes both of them in hand, stroking them together until he feels a stickiness spread over both of their stomachs and spill onto his hand. The rumbling in his throat escapes in a cry, and Luke kisses down from his throat to Reid's abdomen, his tongue trailing through their come and staining it red. Reid wants to watch him, to see Luke's heavy-lidded, wide, post-orgasm stare, but he can't open his eyes.

 _He stood in the hospital room. Luke threw back the pristine white sheet. There was a gaping hole in his abdomen, bleeding out onto the mattress and pooling on the floor. Luke's mouth was open in a scream of pain, but Reid couldn't hear anything. His ears were filled with the sound of Luke's slowing heartbeat, echoing throughout Memorial. He dropped to his knees, lapping at the blood on the floor._

Reid's eyes snap open, and he immediately takes Luke's face in his hands, pulling him up to meet his gaze. Reid's eyes are wild and frantic, and he can see them reflected in Luke's own.

"Are you okay?" Reid asks, failing to keep the panic out of his voice.

"I'm great," Luke answers with a smile. Then it falters. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't have a nightmare?" Reid asks again, his hands travelling every inch of Luke's skin. They pause when one reaches Luke's transplant scar.

"I haven't for three weeks," Luke says, then his gaze flicks to the calendar on Reid's bedside table. "Today," he says. "Three weeks today."

"Happy birthday," Reid says, relaxing. "You're three weeks old. How shall we celebrate?"

"Well, first," Luke begins, resting his head against Reid's chest, "I'm going to get a haircut. Then we're going to Ethan's actual birthday party."

"Oh fuck," Reid groans. "I was meant to lie about a surgery."

"Come _on_ , Reid," Luke says, slapping Reid's chest lightly. "You promised. You're the one who's always saying we have to show people we're normal."

"And normal for me is to avoid all social events to marvel at my own genius."

"There'll be cake," Luke bargains, and Reid feels his eyes light up. "And grandmother's come back for a visit, so you can always use John as an escape."

"Can't I just fuck you on the porch?"

"Ethan may be an open-minded kid, but even he would draw the line at watching his vampire brother fuck his vampire boyfriend on his birthday," Luke lightly kisses Reid's nipple before rolling off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Reid asks, his hand travelling lazily up and down his chest.

Luke licks his lips, before shaking his head. "I need to get cleaned up if I want to get my hair cut." He pauses, taking in the room around him. "And you need to buy red sheets, before Katie starts throwing shoes at you again."

=====

They walk to Snyder Farm, strolling through the daylight and supressing smirks as all eyes turn to them. They wear sunglasses, of course, but it amuses them to see people's quizzical looks, as if they expect for Luke and Reid to turn to ash right in front of their eyes. Dusty and Janet spot them, walking their ridiculously named child, and Reid rolls his eyes behind his glasses as Luke waves to them.

When they reach the farm, the sun is just beginning to set. Ethan barrels into Luke, his little arms encircling Luke's waist. Natalie's beside him, shyly offering a piece of cake up to Reid.

"You were always my favourite," he tells Natalie, taking the cake, and Ethan kicks him in the shin. "Ow! You too!"

"Luke should be your favourite," Ethan scowls at him, and they both run back inside.

"Okay, I got my cake," Reid says, pausing to lick icing from his finger. "Let's go."

" _Reid_ ," Luke says, pushing him forward a little. "My family have been really good to us during my...change. And I promise we can make out inappropriately in front of Faith."

An hour later, they're making out inappropriately in front of Faith. And every other Snyder and Walsh in Oakdale. Which is a lot. Thankfully, the kids are too interested in Ethan's new toys to pay them any attention. They aren't being _too_ obvious about it, tucked away in the corner of the room. It just happens to be a well-lit, highly visible corner of the room. Luke has Reid up against the wall, hands searching out Reid's muscles beneath his shirt. Reid is pressing deep, sucking kisses to Luke's neck, and he tries to be careful not to let any of Luke's family see the small, bleeding nick he has made there.

"Mom," Faith moans. "Can I _please_ take drugs again?"

Reid's eyes flutter open, pupils wide and dark, and he takes in the scene through his eyelashes. Faith's watching them with this horrified expression that only teenagers can master, and Parker is putting his hair to good use, covering his eyes with it. Holden and Emma are pointedly looking away, talking about horses or wood or something. Carly can't tear her gaze away, and she is breathing hotly into Jack's ear, her hand sliding between his thighs. Everyone is too engrossed in Luke and Reid to notice it. Katie is grinning at them, and Simon, who has noticed Reid's eyes opening, toasts them with his beer.

"Leave them alone," Lily tells Faith. "This is what Luke needs now. Reid explained the science behind it."

Luke snorts into Reid's ear, and Reid silences him by abandoning his neck and capturing his lips in a kiss.

"It's terrible what's happened to poor Barbara, isn't it?" Lucinda says, slurring her words a little thanks to a glass too many of wine.

"Yes, a terrible crash by all accounts," John pipes in. "But Reid has told me all about the surgery he has planned, and I expect she'll make a full recovery."

"Henry's with her now," Katie says.

"Do they know who the other driver was?" Holden asks.

"We're hoping Barbara can shed some light when she wakes up," Jack says, his voice wavering a little, which Reid attributes to Carly. "A witness claims the driver hit the car deliberately."

"But she was borrowing your car," Simon says to Katie. "Why would anyone target you?"

"I don't know."

"When's the surgery, Reid?" Simon asks.

"Busy, Bruce," Reid says into Luke's mouth, and he tunes out the rest of the conversation because Luke's fingers are slipping beneath his waistband, teasing the hair underneath. Reid's hands come up to twist in Luke's hair, and his tongue fills Luke's mouth, tasting, exploring, feeling Luke's low moan vibrate against his tastebuds. He pulls Luke back, squashing himself even harder into the wall so that Luke is pressed against him in every conceivable way. Luke's hips begin to rotate, and then Emma's timid voice is hanging in the air around him.

"Dr. Oliver," she says, stammering a little. "I'm very sorry. There's a phone call for you."

Reid slides away from Luke, eyes apologetic, and Luke's gaze follows him out of the room, kiss-bruised lips pouting a little. As Reid heads into the kitchen, he notices everybody turning away from Luke. Except Lucinda, who is raising a toast to her grandson and his gorgeous boyfriend.

"Hello?" Reid says, lifting the receiver. There is no reply. "Hello?" he tries again. The line is dead. He shrugs and hangs up, ready to head back to Luke, when John Dixon enters.

"Ahh, Reid, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Barbara is going to be fine," Reid sighs.

"That's not what I wanted to talk about," John says, and motions for Reid to sit with him at the table. Reid takes a leftover sandwich from the buffet Emma had laid out. "How's Luke doing?"

"He's handling things well," Reid says. "His nightmares have stopped."

John nods. "You can only project on the living. And considering his death wasn't quite as...traumatic as yours-"

"-You don't know how I died," Reid interrupts.

"No, I don't," John admits, "but if you've been having nightmares about it for a century, I can imagine." He pauses again, fumbling with a loose button on his shirt. "And his bloodlust?"

"It's under control," Reid says. "He's never drank from anything living. He doesn't even take the blood donated from the hospital."

"Oh," John says, his face full of confusion. "Doesn't he need it?"

"He likes it if I drink it, then he drinks from me," Reid says, and notices the red flush in John's cheeks. "He likes the intimacy of it."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"If it stops him going off the rails, yeah," Reid says. He rises from the table, but halts at John's next question.

"What about Chris Hughes?"

"He's not been back," Reid tells him. "Will Munson thinks he saw him in Carbondale once, but we could never be sure. Last I heard, he'd been spotted in Toronto. Bob and Kim are being protected in Arizona, and we're looking out for Katie."

"I'm just thinking, with Barbara in Katie's car..."

"If Chris comes back here, I _will_ kill him," Reid says, and heads back to Luke.

=====

" _All I'm saying is, there was still time_ ," Alison's voice crackles through the loudspeaker on Luke's cell.

"I had days at the most," Luke says. He puts a bottle of beer down on the coffee table and lifts Reid's feet, sliding underneath his legs on the couch.

 _"Days is time_ ," Alison protests. " _I think you were too hasty. I just want what's best for you, Luke._ "

Luke laughs. "No, you just didn't want vampires at your wedding."

Reid sits up, grinning. "Does that mean I don't have to go?" he whispers. Luke rolls his eyes and absent-mindedly twirls his fingers in the curls at the nape of Reid's neck.

" _Luke, that's not what I mean. I don't like the idea of you being..._ " Alison trails off, and clears her throat. " _You're dead._ "

"And I'm happy," Luke says back. He grins at Reid, who decides to attack Luke's throat with his lips. "Ali, I'm still - _mmph_ \- the same person."

" _Ignore her, man,_ " Casey's voice interrupts. Reid's teeth scrape along Luke's Adam's apple, and he hisses, his pupils growing wider with lust. " _I get a vampire as a Best Man. There is nothing about this situation that is not awesome._ "

"...Will and Gwen?" Luke manages to groan out, swallowing a moan as Reid's mouth drops to his nipple.

" _Yeah, they're coming,_ " Casey says. " _And..._ "

Reid presses his palm against the crotch of Luke's jeans, and Luke almost jumps out of his skin. "Sorry, gotta go!" Luke gasps. He ends the call with fumbling fingers, and turns to Reid, frowning. "You are evil."

Reid puts on the most innocent expression he can muster. "I don't know what you're talking about." Luke leans forward to kiss him, but Reid raises the journal he is reading in front of his face. "Sorry, I'm working."

Luke groans, throwing his head back, and Reid tries to hold back a laugh. He feels Luke lean forward, sees him pick up the beer bottle.

"Are you gonna bottle-feed me now?" Reid asks with a raised eyebrow. Luke rolls his eyes and lifts the bottle to his lips. "Hey, woah! What are you doing?"

Luke shrugs, "Nothing."

"You're drinking."

"It's not gonna hurt me anymore," Luke says. Reid's hand wraps around Luke's, still holding the bottle.

"That's because I killed you, because you drank yourself to death," Reid says seriously, his eyes looking a little over Luke's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Luke asks, "it's not your fault."

"Right," Reid mutters. Luke looks a little concerned, but says nothing. He just puts the bottle back on the table. He takes the journal out of Reid's hands, dropping it to the floor, and wraps his arms around Reid's neck. "I don't need to drink alcohol," he says, and pecks Reid's lips. "What else have we got?"

Reid looks upwards, as if in contemplation. "I would recommend Essence of Paul. Or perhaps the Cream of Dusty soup?"

"What did you have last?"

"The Littlest Hughes donated yesterday."

Luke licks his lips. "You had Casey?" he asks, his eyes lighting up. "Can I try?"

Reid frowns. "You're gonna have to drink for yourself some day."

"I like drinking from you," Luke says, pouting. Reid wordlessly offers his wrist. "Love you," Luke grins, before piercing Reid's vein.

=====

Reid spots him first, wandering through Oldtown with a rucksack on his back. Luke's next to him on the bench, curled into his side and head buried in his neck, shielding his eyes from the sun. Reid locks eyes with the guy with the rucksack, and he can't think of anything else to do but nudge Luke upright.

Luke blinks dozily at him, and presses a lazy kiss against Reid's lips. Reid's eyes stay open, and he nods his head over to the guy. Luke's mouth drops open.

"Noah!" he gasps, dashing forward. Reid watches their awkward hug with disinterest. Any claim Noah had on Luke's heart had disappeared on the day he first let Luke touch his scars.

"Hi," Noah says, breaking away and sliding his hands into his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asks, grinning.

"Casey and Ali invited me to the wedding," Noah answers. "My film doesn't go into post-production for another two weeks, so I thought I'd come back a few days early."

"Well, that's great," Luke says. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too," Noah says, though his eyes are on Reid. "I won't keep you, I can see that you're busy..."

"Mr. Mayer," Reid says by way of greeting. He rises from the bench and offers Noah a stiff handshake. "How's the eyesight?"

"Good," Noah shoots back. "Well, I better go find Casey," he says, hitching his rucksack up on his shoulder.

"Sure," Luke says, and he's still smiling. "Promise me we'll catch up while you're here. I wanna hear all about your movie."

Noah nods and walks away. Luke turns back to Reid, his expression full of concern.

"Was that really awkward?" he asks.

"Completely," Reid replies, and slings an arm over Luke's shoulder. "You need to massage my ego. A blowjob should do it."

Luke drops to his knees immediately. Reid pulls him back up to his feet, shocked laughter escaping from his lips.

"Not here," he says. "Margo almost arrested us last time."

=====

"What's that?" Luke asks, nudging Reid's cheek with his nose. Reid's eyes remained fixed to the laptop screen.

"Protocol for the surgery," Reid answers. "It's tomorrow."

"Barbara's?" Luke says against Reid's temple. "Will it work?"

"Of course it will," Reid says, smiling. "I'm amazing."

Luke nudges Reid's jaw, forcing him to crane his neck. He presses sloppy, wet kisses along Reid's jawline, sliding a hand inside Reid's half-unbuttoned shirt. Reid shifts beneath him.

" _Luke_ ," he groans, and turns his head. Luke lifts his, pressing resting his forehead on Reid's. "Your parents are downstairs."

"So?" Luke smirks, and darts his tongue out. Reid turns his head away just as Luke's tongue brushes against his lips.

"I need to work."

Luke throws himself back against the pillows, raising a hand dramatically to cover his eyes. He exaggerates his groan, and Reid rolls his eyes. Luke raises himself onto his elbow, snaking his hand over Reid's thigh and squeezing.

"Indulge me," Luke says. "At least work naked."

Luke doesn't wait for Reid's answer, and unfastens the rest of Reid's buttons, sliding the shirt off Reid's shoulders. He tosses the shirt over into the corner of the room, and tugs at Reid's belt loops. Reid obliges, lifting his hips so that Luke can slip off his jeans and underwear. He goes to pull the laptop over onto his lap when Luke stops him.

"Wait," he insists, taking the laptop from his hands and putting it down on the edge of the bed. He guides Reid to lie flat on his stomach, facing the screen, and crawls on top of his body. "There. Now get back to work," he says, massaging Reid's shoulders.

"What are you gonna do?" Reid asks, lightly kissing Luke's hand on his shoulder. Luke in return kisses the back of his neck.

"Encouragement."

Reid tries to concentrate on the protocol, he really tries, but Luke's tongue is travelling the length of his spine, bouncing over every bump of his vertebrae and pausing to kiss the curve of his lower back. He lets out a small noise of pleasure, but not enough to make it look like he's not working. Luke kisses the dip, and moves lower, biting lightly at one of Reid's ass cheeks, and Reid can't help but laugh.

"Concentrate," Luke demands, but Reid's not entirely sure which task Luke's asking him to concentrate on. Luke's hands slide up and down, from his thighs to his hips, and he kisses Reid's tail-bone. Reid's fingers curl in the bedsheets, and the words on the laptop screen are a blur to him now. Luke trails his tongue trails the dip between Reid's cheeks, and suddenly Reid is crying out, hard as a rock against the mattress, as Luke's tongue flicks experimentally at his hole.

" _Fuck, Luke,_ " he hisses, and he feels Luke's wicked smile against his ass. Reid spreads his legs, allowing Luke better access, and feels the cold, damp sensation of spit against his opening. Luke kisses his hole gently, and Reid's body trembles with desire. Then Luke's tongue is stabbing inside him and Reid feels like his eyes are exploding. His head smashes against the keyboard, and some small part of his brain, one that isn't entirely overloaded with Luke and the wonderful spasms his tongue is sending Reid into, thinks _Thank fuck that document's a PDF._

 _Reid pushes himself backwards, feeling the friction of the cotton sheets against his aching cock, fucking himself on Luke's tongue. Luke's fingers press deep into Reid's ass cheeks, pulling them apart and curling his tongue inside Reid. Reid loses all concept of restraint, and he has the feeling he may be moaning Luke's name a little too loudly for Lily's tastes, but Luke's hands move to grip his hips, fingers digging in and Luke is dragging Reid back against him, his tongue reaching as deep into Luke as it can possibly go, and Reid's cheek scrapes against the laptop keys with every thrust. He can feel his tailbone bumping against Luke's nose, and he feels like he's drowning and burning and exploding all at the same time._

 _Reid sends himself over the edge, muffling a cry that could wake the whole of Oakdale by biting into his forearm. The blood spills out onto his tongue and he is coming, gushing over Luke's pristine sheets and his limbs feel like jelly._

 _Luke kisses Reid's thigh and pulls him to a sitting position, letting Reid rest against his neck. He casually lifts Reid's arm to his lips and licks at the wound._

 _"Where the fuck did you learn that?" Reid says eventually. He feels Luke shrug behind him._

 _"I've never done it before," Luke answers. He licks again at the wound. "I just followed the noises."_

 _"Well, you'll definitely be doing it again," Reid says. He reaches an arm behind him to hook around Luke's neck, and pulls him into a kiss. "If Barbara dies tomorrow, you have to explain it to Hank."_

 _"She won't die. You're brilliant."_

 _Luke's bright smile almost has Reid reciprocating, but he's interrupted by the ringing of his cell._

 _"Are you serious?" Luke groans._

 _"Could be the hospital," Reid says. "I'm a very important monster." He leans forward over the laptop to grab his cell from the bedside table. Luke playfully slaps his ass before he sits back against Luke's chest._

 _"Oliver."_

 _The line is silent._

 _"Hello?" Reid tries again. Still no answer. _Who is it?_ Luke mouths, and Reid raises his eyebrows in answer._

"Talk, or I'm hanging up," he says. The line remains silent. Reid flips the cell shut and tosses it away.

"Now, Mr. Snyder," he begins. "I think you owe me a sandwich for distracting me from my work."

"That was encouragement," Luke argues, already sliding off the bed.

"Let me get through this surgery, and I'll show you encouragement."

=====

"Hey Noah?" Luke calls out as he lifts his head. He's in Reid's lap, nibbling on Reid's ear, and Java is almost completely deserted. Noah's leaning on the counter, sipping his coffee, and pointedly not looking at them. Luke slides away from Reid and heads over to him.

"Come join us," Luke offers, but Noah shakes his head.

"You two look kinda busy."

Luke looks at his watch, and Reid finds himself hoping that Noah realises it's not the watch Noah engraved for him. "It is getting pretty late, Carl will be closing soon."

"Carl had to deal with some family emergency," Noah says. "I offered to close up for him, when you've...finished."

"Great!" Luke says. "You can tell me all about your movie."

"You have better things to be doing," Noah says, looking over at Reid. Reid gets up, and pecks Luke on the cheek.

"Stay," he says. "I'll pick up our order from Al's, and meet you back here. Nice to see you, Mr. Mayer."

He can feel Noah scowling at him as he leaves.

=====

Just knowing that there's corn bread in the bag in his hand has Reid's stomach growling. He sits on the bench in Oldtown, allowing Luke a few more moments with the darling Mr. Mayer. It's not that Reid sees him as anything resembling a threat anymore, he'd just rather spend as little time having Noah's glare burn into the back of his head as possible. The wedding was going to be even more excruciating.

Reid's about to open the bag, just for a little taste of chilli, when his cell rings. The number is withheld, so he assumes it has something to do with a patient.

"Oliver."

" _Reid, how you doing?_ "

Reid nearly chokes. "Chris?"

" _That's right. Just checking in._ "

"Okay, I'm hanging up now," Reid says, but Chris' words catch him off guard.

" _How's Katie?_ "

"How dare you ask me that," Reid snarls.

" _I didn't mean to hurt her._ "

"Sure," Reid laughs incredulously, "just like you didn't mean to hurt Natasha Ainsworth."

" _You made me like this._ "

"Because you were dying," Reid yells down the receiver. "And why were you dying? Because you refused treatment. I got myself hit by a train to save you. Luke thought I'd been killed."

" _Fucked with his head a bit, didn't it? How are the nightmares, Reid?_ "

"Fuck you," Reid spits.

" _Well, that's not nice. I'll be sure to tell Luke how rude you are at the wedding._ "

"No way," Reid says. "Everybody knows about you here. You won't live a day."

A sigh. " _I guess you're right. Besides, Dallas is lovely this time of year. Mr. Judd says hi, by the way. I was sure to tell him you sent me when I killed his wife._ "

"You're sick."

" _Give my love to Katie._ "

The long beep of Chris hanging up reverbates in Reid's ear for a minute, as he stares ahead, unblinking, and feeling the claustrophobic soil against his skin. He presses the heel of his palm against his eye socket and lets out a loud, angry growl, before shaking his head. This is ridiculous. Chris is just teasing him, he doesn't have the balls to actually kill someone in cold blood. Either way, Reid decides he will text Simon later, asking him to keep an eye on Katie, and will call his old colleagues in Dallas about the Judd family. But first, he needs to get to Luke.

Chilli and cornbread forgotten on the bench, Reid dashes through the door of Java. He stops dead at the sight before him.

Luke is drinking from Noah.

Noah is stiff in Luke's arms, eyes wide in fear and mouth open in a silent. Luke's lips are clamped firmly on the side of Noah's neck, jaw kneading at the flesh beneath. Reid tears Luke away in an instant, slapping Luke across the face.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Reid screams, shaking Luke's shoulders.

"Reid..." Luke sighs dreamily. Reid takes Luke's face roughly in his hands, looking directly into Luke's eyes.

"You can't drink from people," Reid cries desperately. "I can't let you become that!"

Luke looks at Reid, confused, and his gaze drifts over. "Noah," he whispers. Noah's hand is clamped to his neck, and Reid can see that Luke barely pierced his skin. Noah drops to the floor, curling up beneath the counter, whimpering.

Luke turns back to Reid, guilty and panicking. "Reid, I'm sorry. I didn't realise. He felt so familiar and I was confused because I only ever feel familiar with you and I drink from you." Luke's hands are clutching at Reid's shirt, his hair, his arms. "And I thought it was you, I wasn't even thinking of Noah because my mind is so full of you and I didn't mean to and I really need you to fuck me."

Luke's lips are glistening with Noah's blood as he babbles incoherent apologies at Reid, and his eyes are red with the sting of tears. Reid silences him with a hungry kiss, tasting Noah on his tongue, and Luke turns from desperate to predatory, throwing Reid to the floor, sucking Reid's tongue into his mouth. Luke's canine scrapes against Reid's tongue, and the taste of Noah is washed away with Reid's blood. Luke crawls on top of Reid, tearing the shirt from him. He bites into Reid's shoulder, leaving a deep, bleeding mark, and Reid moans enthusiastically against Luke's hair. He pulls Luke's t-shirt over his head and flips them over, leaning over Luke's body and teasing Luke's transplant scar with his mouth. One of Luke's hands flies behind him as he arches his back and grips onto something denim. Reid gazes up at Luke as he licks along the scar, and his fingers fumble blindly at Luke's belt buckle. He wrestles it open, popping the fly, and yanks Luke's jeans and boxers down, exposing his hard, throbbing cock. Reid presses a kiss to the tip and turns Luke onto his back. He hears a distant scream as Luke lets go of the denim and gets a firmer grip on something blurry and flesh-coloured, but Reid is more concerned with why his trembling hands haven't unfastened his fly yet.

Luke's free hand rises to his mouth, and he slicks three fingers with spit. Luke reaches behind himself, sliding them inside one by one until he is fucking himself, fingers buried to the knuckle, and finally Reid is free, not even bothering to slide his own jeans past his knees. He halts Luke's hand, pulling it away from Luke's eager hole, and licks at one of the fingers. He guides himself inside Luke, burying himself to the hilt, and scrapes his teeth along the nape of Luke's neck. One of his hands covers Luke's on the flesh-coloured thing, fist curling tightly to steady himself, and he thrusts sharply inside Luke, too crazy with desire to be careful. Luke lets out a strangled scream, followed by repeated, breathy moans of his name, and Reid speeds up the rhythm. His bleeding shoulder drips onto Luke's back, and Reid dips his head to lick them away. He feels Luke spasm beneath him, and his arm flops beneath Reid's grip. Reid speeds up his rhythm, willing himself to come before Luke collapses beneath him.

"Forever," Luke sighs, and it sends Reid over the edge, choking out Luke's name and filling him up. Reid slows his rhythm until the twisting feeling in his stomach subsides, and he collapses on top of Luke, still inside him, lightly kissing his shoulder blades.

A shifting beneath both of their hands has them looking up. The flesh-coloured thing comes into focus, and it's Noah's arm. Noah's cheeks are wet with tears, and his face is pale, body trembling beneath their touch.

"Love...Reid..." Luke says, smiling and delirious, and Noah tears away from them, almost punching through the wood of Java's door with the force he exerts upon it. "Bye Noah," Luke says sleepily. Reid carefully slides out of Luke, fastening up his jeans. He looks at his torn shirt, crumpled on the floor, and picks up Luke's t-shirt instead, pulling it on and heading out into the night.

"Noah, stop," he calls after Noah, who is half-running, half-stumbling through Oldtown. He catches up to Noah quickly. Reid grabs Noah's arm, and he screams. "Stay calm," he says softly.

Noah's fist connects with Reid's jaw, and Reid falls back against the bench. "What are you?"

"What you think," Reid replies, getting back on his feet.

"I should have known," Noah says, laughing hysterically. "You were hit by a train!"

"Just calm down, and I can explain..."

"It wasn't enough, stealing my boyfriend. You just had to turn him into a monster."

"He was dying, Noah," Reid snaps. "And if you cared so much about him, you would have answered when Ali called to tell you, you selfish bastard."

"Dying?" Noah says, as if the word has no meaning to them. Reid pauses.

"Sit down," he says finally. "Please."

=====

"So why didn't you test the rest of the town? Why didn't you call me? I would have given him a kidney."

Noah is calmer now, sitting beside Reid on the bench. He's numb, by his own admission, and Reid's pretty sure that if he killed Noah right at this moment, Noah wouldn't even notice. Luke's bite has scabbed over, but the blood still stains the collar of Noah's sweater.

"You never answered your phone," Reid says. "And we didn't have time to test anybody else. He was almost gone."

"There must have been other options," Noah says, shaking his head.

"Luke chose this," Reid says, staring ahead. "I wouldn't have done it otherwise."

Noah nods. "The nightmares, the ones that made him drink, does he get them anymore?"

"No," Reid answers. "We can only project on the living."

"Project?" Noah asks, turning to him. "What's that?"

Reid sighs. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and rubs his face with his hands. "You can't tell Luke, he doesn't know."

"Did you do something to him?" Noah accuses.

"Luke had nightmares because I had nightmares. About my death. I projected all of my fear and my lust and the years of knowing I'm wrong onto him," Reid gulps. "It's not something I could stop or control, but I didn't know how much it was hurting him and that he was drinking and _fuck!_ " Reid throws the now-cold chilli against the brick of Java. "I did this to him. I killed him and I can't tell him because he thinks that I saved him!"

"Reid?" Luke's voice is small and timid behind him.

Reid and Noah both turn. Luke is standing shirtless in the shadow of the streetlamp, arms folding across his chest and shivering. "Reid?" he says again, and takes a step closer. "The wooden box."

"Luke," Reid breathes, and runs over to him, enveloping him with his arms, holding his trembling body against his chest.

"It was real," Luke continues. "You were in the wooden box."

"I'm so sorry," Reid whispers.

"You did save me," Luke says, his lips cold against the thin material of his t-shirt that Reid now wears. "Why didn't anybody save you?"

Neither of them notice Noah walking away.


	9. Chapter 9

They hadn't spoken all night.

They had walked back in silence to Reid's place, the bitter cold of the night air stinging Reid's skin as he'd slipped Luke's shirt back over his trembling shoulders. They'd slept together that night, Luke inside Reid this time, silent even in his orgasm. Throughout everything, Luke's broken voice echoed in Reid's brain.

 _Why didn't anybody save you?_

Reid is already awake when Luke rises that morning, as he has not slept at all. He offers Luke a smile, but it's fake and makes his jaw ache. Luke sees right through it, and his eyes, red from a night of tearful sleep, blink a few times from the sunlight pouring in through the window. Reid thinks about closing the curtains, the sun being too low and bright in the winter for their sensitive eyes, when Luke finally shuffles into his side.

"I'm sorry," he mouths against Reid's scars.

"No," Reid insists, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. "Never apologise."

"But Noah," Luke begins, "I didn't mean...please believe me Reid."

Luke's arm snakes around Reid's torso, clutching tightly. Reid's skin crawls at the touch.

"It's my fault," he whispers.

Luke sits up. "How is it your fault? I bit him. I'm the one who couldn't control myself."

"I made you a vampire."

"To save my life!" Luke protests.

Reid meets his eyes. "I'm the reason you were dying." Reid slips out of the bed, pacing naked around the room. His eyes linger on the mirror image of himself, and Reid feels like he's looking in a fairground mirror, his scars larger and uglier than they ever seemed before. He can see Luke watching him from the bed in the reflection, the sheets pooled in his lap. Luke runs a hand through his hair and tugs it in frustration.

"You weren't, Reid."

"My projecting killed you," Reid insists to the reflection.

"I killed myself!" Luke yells. His voice softens. "Reid, I wanted this. If it hadn't been the nightmares, I would have found some other excuse to get you to turn me."

"Why would anyone want this?" Reid asks.

"Why would I want life?" Luke says. "Growing old, dying, knowing you're going to spend the rest of eternity alone. I wanted forever with you, Reid."

Reid laughs. "So you want to go through centuries of torment and hunger, for me? You're seriously fucked up, Snyder."

"Yeah, maybe I am," Luke says with a shrug. "But that's why you love me. And why you could never let me go."

Reid turns. He climbs back onto the bed, his legs spreading on either side of Luke's body, and cups Luke's cheek. "You tricked me. You little bastard."

Luke grins and kisses him. "I'm a Grimaldi. It's what we do."

"Please don't say that name."

"Why?" Luke asks.

"I've had...run-ins...with your father before," Reid says nervously. Luke just laughs.

"I can't say I'm surprised." His expression softens. "How long have you been having nightmares?"

"Well, I died in 1917," Reid says thoughtfully, "so...since 1917."

"Oh _Reid_."

"It's not a big deal," Reid says, shrugging. "I don't get them all the time."

"I've seen them, Reid," Luke says. "It is a big deal."

"Yeah, well, I can't stop them, so let's just forget about it."

"Reid..."

"Forget about it," Reid repeats, his voice stern.

"Fine," Luke sighs. He lies back against the pillows, pulling Reid down with him. "But only if you come tonight."

"I come every night," Reid says with a smirk. Luke smacks him on the arm.

"To Casey's bachelor party!"

"Oh," Reid says, dragging out the syllable. Then, quickly, "no."

Luke kisses his shoulder. "Please?"

"Can't we just stay here and fuck each other's brains out?"

"I'm Casey's Best Man," Luke says. "And Noah will be there."

"Are you serious?" Reid scoffs.

"Come on, what am I supposed to say to him?" Luke asks. "You've been doing this longer than me, I need your help."

"You could tell him he was tasty," Reid offers. Luke wrinkles his nose.

"Actually, he was kind of bitter."

"Okay, no," Reid says, laughing. "You cannot drink someone's blood and then insult them. Even if they are Noah Mayer."

"See?" Luke says. "I'm useless at this vampire stuff. I need guidance. You'll have to come, to save me from myself."

"I hate you," Reid says. Luke kisses him again.

"Love you too."

=====

They arrive at Yo's at the same time as Noah. Standing awkwardly outside, Reid half-listens as Luke pulls Noah aside to talk. He catches snippets of Luke's desperate "Please Noah, I didn't mean..." and Noah's "Luke, drop it..." and Luke's "Can't we be friends?" followed by Noah's "Let's just get through this wedding."

They're interrupted as Casey opens the door, dragging Luke inside. "There's my Best Man!" he cries, already a little merry, and Luke laughs a little, his eyes still on Noah.

Reid grabs Noah's arm as he turns to head inside.

"Noah, wait."

"You don't have to say anything," Noah answers shortly. "Casey explained everything to me."

"Casey doesn't _know_ everything," Reid replies.

"He knows why you turned him," Noah says, "and he knows it was Luke's choice. The rest, I don't want to know."

"You believe he didn't mean to hurt you, right?" Reid says. "His instincts are keener, and he knows you intimately..."

"Can we not talk about that?"

"Just forgive him, please," Reid asks.

"No," Noah snaps. "I'll be civil, for tonight and the wedding. Then, I want you both out of my life. Forever." Noah flings the door open and storms inside. Reid rolls his eyes and follows him.

Inside, Luke, Casey and Will share a booth close to the bar. Will drunkenly giggles at Luke, sat in Casey's lap and tenderly stroking his hair. Casey attempts to bat his hands away, laughing.

" _Luke_..."

"Oh come on Casey," Luke says, all big eyes and pouty lips. "You get married tomorrow. This is my last chance for Casey-loving."

"And your first chance, I hope," Reid says, taking a seat next to Will.

"They used to date," Will tells him, straightfaced, and Reid nearly chokes.

"No we didn't, what the fuck man?" Casey says, pushing Luke from his lap. Luke immediately sits beside Reid, taking his hand under the table. Reid's thumb rubs over the long scar on Luke's palm.

"Casey used me," Luke tells him, his voice quivering. "He never satisfied me."

"I hate you," Casey mutters. "We were in a fake...oh, just ask Noah. Where is he?"

"At the bar," Will says. Casey twists in his seat to look over at the bar, and Reid's gaze falls on him. Noah is pointedly not looking at them. When Casey turns back, Luke has half-draped himself over Reid, pressing light kisses to Reid's neck. Reid's hand has automatically cradled the base of Luke's skull.

"Dude," Casey groans. "It's my bachelor party. Can we not make it some creepy gay vampire orgy?"

Luke pulls away, smiling. "Okay, we won't do the vampire thing, but we've got a three to two ratio of homosexuality here tonight."

"It's male strippers and rainbow flags for you, my friend," Noah says, taking a seat beside Casey and plastering a fake smile on his face.

"Okay, no," Casey says, exasperated. "When Simon, Paul and Henry get here..."

"Yeah," Reid snorts. "Because Hank the crossdresser will really man up the evening."

"I suppose if Casey wants a female stripper..." Will begins. Everyone but Casey creases up in laughter, even Reid. And especially Noah, who Reid suspects is laughing in part due to hysteria.

"I need new friends," Casey sulks.

When the laughter dies down, Will takes a sip of his beer. "Henry and Paul are stopping by the hospital first. Mom's still a little out of it."

"It'll take a couple of days," Reid tells him. Luke rolls his eyes.

"As much as I love Barbara, enough hospital talk," Luke says. "We need to embarrass Casey as much as possible."

Casey opens his mouth to protest, but then his cell phone rings. Casey dives to answer it.

"Hello?...Mom, I told you not to...oh. Oh, okay....yeah, thanks." He hangs up slowly, staring at his phone for a few moments, before shaking his head and slapping his hands down on the table.

"Right, more drinks!" he says. "Reid, d'you wanna..." Casey jerks his head over to the bar, lips pulled into a tight frown. Reid nods and stands up, shuffling past Luke to get out of the booth.

"Coke," Luke says as he passes by. Reid nods and heads away from the table with Casey. He looks back, and with Will as a buffer, Luke and Noah seem to be amicable at the least.

Reid orders their drinks and turns to Casey. "What is it?"

"My mom just called," Casey says. "A bouquet's just been delivered to the house."

"I agree, that's horrible," Reid says, monotone.

"From Chris," Casey continues.

"Fuck," Reid hisses. "What did the card say?"

"As far as I know, just his name," Casey says. "You don't think he'll show up, do you?"

Reid shrugs. "Probably not, it's too high-risk. I'll keep an eye out, just in case. And I'll make sure someone's with Katie at all times."

"What about Ali?" Casey asks. "She used to be engaged to Chris."

"You're engaged to your uncle's ex-fiancee?" Reid says, wrinkling his nose. "Only in Oakdale would a vampire be the normal one."

"Just tell me she'll be alright," Casey demands. "You and Luke will use your super-awesome undead powers and protect her."

Reid glances back over at Luke, laughing with Will, Noah half-heartedly chuckling along. "No one else will get hurt," Reid promises.

=====

Luke is posing for a photograph with Lucinda and Lily when Reid pulls him in for a kiss. He senses the flash when their lips meet, and has the feeling that Faith will be using that particular image as blackmail for years to come. Reid couldn't care in the least. Casey and Alison's reception, at Fairwinds, has some of the most delicious food Reid has ever tasted on offer. He's managed to infuriate Henry three times already that day, but a mutual love and concern for Katie quickly turns it into a playful rivalry. He's spent most of the day with Katie and Simon, the latter having not left Katie's side all day, and avoiding all of the well-wishers approaching him, desperate to not look prejudiced. Reid amuses himself trying to work out if people are uncomfortable about him being gay, or being dead. It seems that the minister is the only one concerned about the former, but then, the minister is from out of town and has no idea the Best Man has a taste for blood.

"You ruined the photo," Luke says, hands on Reid's biceps.

" _You've_ been ignoring me all day," Reid says back, and kisses him again.

"I've been busy," Luke protests. "My best friends just got married. It's kinda important."

"I'm kinda important," Reid says. Luke laughs, and Katie taps Reid on the shoulder.

"We're leaving," Katie says. "We have to get Jacob from the sitter."

"Well hold on a minute and we'll come with you."

"No," Katie says, shaking her head. "Luke can't leave yet, and we all know you're not gonna leave without him."

"We'll be fine," Simon says, and he looks at Reid as if to say _I'll die before I let Katie get hurt._ Reid pulls away from Luke, dipping his head to kiss Katie on the cheek. He shakes Simon's hand, then his face pulls into a frown.

"What am I supposed to do while Luke's off being important?"

"Well, you could fill Bob and Kim in on the hospital," Katie says. "Margo, Tom and I are the only ones to call them anymore. It'd be nice for you to talk to them again."

"A night of disapproving Kim-looks. How enticing," Reid deadpans.

"There's always more cake," Luke offers. Reid grins and kisses him another time.

"We'll call if we need anything," Simon says, and they slip away.

"Hey, where are they going?" Noah's voice interrupts their kiss.

"Home," Luke says. He smiles, huge and warm, and the tension between the three of them makes Reid uncomfortable. "How's your evening?" Luke asks, sounding a little too eager. "I bet you've been telling everyone about your movie."

"Noah, come dance!" Alison cries out, grabbing Noah's arm and dragging him away. Luke's face falls.

"He'll come around, eventually," Reid says. He wraps his arms around Luke's waist. "Now, do I get some time with you, or are you related to everybody in this room?"

"I think there's a five-minute gap in my mingling schedule," Luke says, smiling. "Let's dance."

Reid shakes his head. "I don't dance."

"You do now," Luke says, linking his hands behind Reid's neck.

A half-hour later, Luke still hasn't returned to his mingling schedule. They're in the middle of the dancing couples, arms enveloping each other, swaying a little. It's barely dancing, but Reid can't even hear the music. His mind is wrapped up in Luke, his touch, his scent, his eyes. It's all Reid can do to stop himself getting hard right there in the middle of the reception. He'll be mocked mercilessly for this in the morning, but right now, there is nothing in his life but Luke and the grin he offers as Reid dances with him.

They're finally distracted by Casey punching Luke on the arm. "It's a fast song, you idiots," Casey laughs at them. Luke looks at him, a little dazed, and slips his hands timidly in his pockets. Casey dances his way back to Alison, and Reid's about to suggest slipping outside when Noah re-enters the room, holding a bouquet.

"Hey," Noah says. "Where's Ali?"

"Dancing," Luke says. His gaze drops to the flowers. "Where'd you get those?"

"Chris brought them," Noah says innocently. "He asked me to give them to Ali."

"Chris was here?" Reid says, his voice stern. Noah looks confused.

"Err...yeah? Is something wrong?"

"Where did he go?" Reid demands.

"He was looking for Katie," Noah says, "so I'm guessing to your place."

Luke and Reid look at each other for a moment, and make a dash to the door.

Out in the crisp night air, Noah catches up to them. At Noah's hand on his arm, it takes all Reid's self-restraint not to punch him in the face. Noah whirls him around, his grip much more forceful than Reid anticipated, and squares up to Reid, chests almost touching, glaring daggers at him.

"What the hell is your problem now?"

Reid pushes him. "My _problem_ is, you've just sent a psychopath after my best friend."

"Reid, stop," Luke urges. "He didn't know."

"Didn't know what?" Noah yells. "What the fuck has happened here?"

"He's a vampire," Reid spits. "And unlike Luke and myself, he hasn't handled it with much dignity."

"Well how was I supposed to know?" Noah screams.

"You said Casey told you _everything_!"

"This isn't helping!" Luke says, tearing them apart. "Reid, get in the car."

"I'm coming too," Noah demands.

"Noah..." Luke begins.

"I'm coming, Luke."

They dash for the car. Luke drives, and Reid and Noah sit in silence.

=====

Noah charges through the door before Luke and Reid have the time to formulate a plan. They run in after him, and Katie's voice screams at them to stop. Chris Hughes grips her from behind as she struggles against him, and Luke goes to make a dash at him, but Reid holds him back.

"Nice wedding?" Chris says with a grin. "I hope Ali liked the flowers."

Reid hears a groaning to his left, and sees Simon sprawled on the floor. He is bleeding from the huge gash on his head, half conscious and dizzy. Noah drops to his knees, trying to calm the bleeding.

"Chris, this is ridiculous," Reid snarls. "I can easily overpower you, and you know it."

"Reid, don't," Katie cries. "He's in there."

"Shut up!" Chris yells, and knees Katie in the back. She buckles, but Chris' grip keeps her upright.

"He's got Jacob," she says again, breathless. Before Reid can stop him, Luke is darting to Katie's bedroom door. As he opens it, a hand springs out and closes around Luke's throat. Luke doesn't need to breathe, but he still freezes in terror. He backs out, his captor following, and Reid's world crumbles.

He feels the teeth sinking into his throat, the soil beneath his finger nails, the splinters and cuts along his knuckles. He's claustrophobic again, and his head is swimming. He can taste blood in his mouth, not his own, and it's hot and heavy and he wants to gag on it. He feels shame, and fear, and regret, and it's almost all-consuming. He sees the bright lights of a train hurtling towards him. And then the man opens his mouth.

"Hello, Red."

Reid is shaking and silent. Angus stares back at him, the same smug smile he sported almost a century ago, only now his accent has lost it's Scottish brogue and has a distinctive Brooklyn twang. Angus pulls Luke in towards his chest, grinning. He sniffs Luke's hair, and nips at Luke's ear. Luke lets out a small whimper, and Angus' fingers brush over his scars.

"He's nice," Angus observes. "But then, you always liked the pretty ones."

"Get your hands off my son!" Katie screams, and Chris laughs as he restrains her. Angus chuckles too.

"Do you really think I'm gonna hurt a baby?" Angus says. "I'm not a monster. The Australian."

Noah slowly helps Simon to his feet, and the two of them shuffle over to Angus. Angus hands Jacob over to Simon, careful to keep Luke out of Noah's reach, then quickly backs away.

"The baby and him can go," Angus says. "The rest, stay."

"Let Noah go too," Luke insists. Angus digs his fingernails into Luke's skin, puncturing the pale flesh.

"You are in no position to negotiate," Angus snarls. Noah lets go of Simon, ensuring he is steady enough to walk with Jacob, and Simon stumbles out of the door.

"We may get hungry afterwards," Chris smiles at Noah.

"He'll call for help," Reid spits.

"We'll be done before he even gets downstairs," Angus says. He smiles. "This is excellent work, Red," he says, one of his hands trailing over Luke's skin. It pauses at Luke's crotch, pressing against it. Luke looks like he's going to be sick. "Must have been fun, enthralling this one."

"Go to hell," Reid says.

"Not again," Angus says offhandedly. "Here's how it's going to work. My friend Chris here says you weren't very nice to him. Wouldn't let him play with his toys." Reid can hear Katie struggling in Chris' arms. "So, let's make a deal. You stand by while Chris brings the beautiful Katie into our family, and I don't snap your pretty little boyfriend's neck."

"Reid!" Katie cries out. Luke just looks at him, eyes full of tears, and Reid feels something in his stomach churn. He turns to Katie, feeling utterly helpless, but he knows there's no contest. He cannot lose Luke. He's about to nod his ascent, when Noah pushes past him, arm outstretched, something gold and shiny in his grasp.

Angus barks out a laugh as Noah holds the crucifix chain in front of Angus' face. "You're an atheist."

"Yeah," Noah sighs. Then, with fierce determination, his fist connects with Angus' jaw, sending Angus flying off his feet and into the wall. "With a damn good left-hook."

Reid uses the distraction to charge at Chris. Katie is sent hurtling into the kitchen with the force of the impact, while Chris is knocked flat on his back. Reid climbs on top of him, holding him down, and pummels Chris' face. Chris is still laughing. Reid's hand wraps around a paperweight that has fallen off the side table, and he raises it high above his head, ready to smash it down into Chris' mouth. He wants to smash out every tooth in Chris' head. He is filled with so much rage and fury that he doesn't notice Angus behind him until his arm halts Reid's. Reid turns his head, and Angus' other arm raises a kitchen knife. Reid freezes, and everything seems to move in slow motion. Chris is forgotten beneath him as the stench of rotting wood surrounds him, and his mind screams _Luke! Luke!_ over and over until the voices overlap and become one long, never-ending scream.

Angus stops, shocked, and then the blood is squirting in torrents from the back of his neck. His hand flies up to it and he turns, looking a mixture of terrified and offended, at a blood-soaked Luke, a shard of glass from a picture frame dripping red in his hand. Angus falls to his knees, and his body jerks. He gargles, blood escaping from his neck and his mouth, as his limbs spasm out of control. Then abruptly, they stop, and Angus is left staring. Staring at Reid.

Reid vaguely notices Noah running over to Katie, cradling her. Luke stares in horror at his own hands, and Reid feels like he's trapped in a dream. He slowly turns back to Chris, whose laughing has stopped. His eyes are pleading, but Reid can barely focus on them.

"Reid, I'm sorry," Chris babbles. "We all make mistakes..." and that is all Reid hears as Chris' words blend into one. Reid rises to his feet, Chris still lying on the floor, and takes the shard from Luke's hands.

"You're okay," he says, more to himself than Luke.

"I knew you couldn't do it," Luke says. "It'd be like me killing Damian."

Reid is filled with the overwhelming urge to kiss Luke, but he senses Chris stirring at his feet. His foot presses against Chris' chest, forcing him back down.

"We're family," Reid says. "Killing you would be like killing my own son."

"We can't let him go again," Luke insists.

"We're not," Reid says. "We'll talk to Margo, find somewhere we can lock him up, away from anybody else and with no chance of escape."

"So what," Chris asks, "you're just gonna keep me, like a little pet."

"I'm gonna make you better," Reid says, and pulls Chris to his feet. "If you're willing."

"I'm willing," Chris says, "I don't want to be like this. I don't know how to stop."

Reid only lets go of Chris for a moment, just to readjust his grip, and Chris is powering towards Katie again, a demonic howl ripping from his throat. Noah tries to push Katie out of the way, but Chris is too fast, grabbing Katie and lowering his teeth to her neck.

Katie screams, and in a blur Chris freezes and goes limp, Katie's hand clutching the handle of the knife buried in Chris' temple.

It takes ten minutes of coaxing for Katie to let go of the kitchen knife, and a further five for her to even acknowledge Reid. Eventually, Reid gets her to stand, and orders Luke to find Simon and Jacob, and take them to the hospital along with Katie and Noah. Luke presses a shaky kiss to Reid's cheek before he leaves, and when the door clicks behind him, Reid takes up the paperweight and begins smashing away Chris and Angus' teeth, crying tears of frustration with every blow.

=====

When Reid arrives at the hospital, it is populated by doctors he doesn't know the names of, the only staff he can stand to have a conversation with being at the wedding. He finds Luke quickly, free from injuries, waiting outside one of the rooms in the ER.

"Hey," Reid says, wrapping his arms around Luke. "Where is everybody?"

"Simon has to stay in for a few days, but he'll be fine," Luke says. "Katie and Jacob are with him."

"How is she?" Reid asks.

"How would you be?" Luke replies. Luke's voice drops to a whisper. "They can't come back? You came back from the train."

"They can't come back," Reid repeats, and Luke collapses into tears against his chest. Reid can't do anything except hold him, making meaningless soothing noises and stroking his hair. _You always liked the pretty ones_ , Angus' voice echoes around his head, and he tries to block it out by imagining the sound of Luke's laughter, but it doesn't really work.

When Luke calms down, he gazes up into Reid's eyes, and runs a hand through Reid's hair. "Why did he call you that?" he asks. "Your hair's not even red."

Luke is distracted by a figure moving past them. "Noah!" he calls out. "Where are you going?"

"Airport," Noah replies, "I'm heading back to LA."

"So soon?" Luke asks meekly.

"Yeah," Noah sighs. "Tell Casey and Ali they can visit me whenever they want. And give my regards to Lily and Holden."

"So, everyone's free to visit you except me, right?"

Reid's grip on Luke tightens.

"That's right," Noah says. "Who are we kidding, Luke? I don't fit in your life anymore."

"Noah, please."

"I still love you," Noah says. "And I know some part of you will always still love me. But you'll never be _in_ love with me again. I accept that, and I even accept you being with Reid, but this," his hand gestures to Luke and Reid, and their blood-stained clothes, "this is too much."

Luke slumps, defeated. "I'll miss you," he says.

"I miss you too," Noah replies, and Reid picks up on his lack of future tense, even if Luke doesn't. Noah nods to Reid, and casts Luke one last, lingering look, before disappearing down the corridor and around the corner.

"He'll come around, one day," Reid whispers in Luke's ear, but he's not sure he believes it.

"Doesn't matter," Luke shrugs, still staring ahead. "Still got you."

"You lucky bastard," Reid says.

"Let's not tell the Hughes' yet," Luke says. "Give Casey and Ali tonight, at least."

Reid nods his agreement, and kisses Luke one more time. "I don't know why he called me Red either," he says. "My hair's auburn if anything."


	10. Chapter 10

_"Red."_

 _The room was black, and cold. Reid couldn't see anything, and his arms and legs were bound by something he couldn't feel. He just knew that he couldn't move. A harsh wind blew through the room, whistling in his ear drums._

 _"I'm dead, Red. It's all your fault."_

 _Reid felt a sharp pain and blood filled his mouth. He spat, and his teeth shot past his lips, clattering on the floor like bullets._

 _"You think, just because your boyfriend killed me, I'm gonna leave you alone? I'll never leave, Red. Never."_

Reid wakes up with a jolt, his body covered in a thin film of sweat, and Luke is there immediately, brushing the hair from his face and kissing the bridge of his nose until the trembling subsides. Luke leans over Reid, switching on the lamp by Reid's side of the bed, and settles back against the headboard.

"What happened this time?" he asks.

Reid feels no shame or reluctance in talking about his dreams to Luke anymore. Since the two of them took over Lily's lease (Lily having moved back to the farm with Holden and the kids), there wasn't much opportunity to hide. Plus, Luke's comfort blowjobs were outstanding, even by Reid's very high standards.

"Black room, couldn't move," Reid says. "He was taunting me."

"Was there wind?" Luke asks.

"Yeah."

"Huh," Luke shrugs, and pulls Reid over to settle his head against Luke's chest. Ordinarily, their positioning would be reversed, but Reid found it oddly comforting in these few moments after the nightmares to hear Luke's heartbeat, even if it was too faint and too slow to be real. "What I don't get," Luke says eventually, his hand playing with Reid's curls, "is why you're still having them now. Surely Angus dying is the closure you need."

"I thought it was too," Reid says. "I mean, it was for those first few months, and then they just came flooding back."

"With added wind," Luke muses. Reid lifts his head.

"You think the wind's significant?"

"Let me think on it," Luke says. "So, busy few weeks soon."

"The opening of the neuro wing, Katie's wedding that I have to pretend to be excited about..."

"Come on, you're happy for her," Luke says. "And we have to visit my dad."

"We only saw them two days ago," Reid moans.

"I mean Damian," Luke says, quietly.

Reid flops back against the pillows, groaning loudly and rubbing his eyes.

"Reid, please. He's my dad, and he's getting released soon."

"He's also a vampire hunter," Reid says. "A vampire hunter who has a history with me, and has no idea I'm even a vampire, never mind turned his only son into one."

"We're going," Luke orders. "Besides, I've already told him about us."

Reid chokes. "What?"

"Well, I had to explain why I'll never turn old enough to receive the full Grimaldi fortune," Luke says. "He's okay with it, begrudgingly. And I get the rest of the money next month."

"You're getting even richer?" Reid asks with a grin. "Luke, we could _buy_ Oakdale."

"I will be the wealthiest person in town, yeah," Luke says. "But that doesn't matter."

"Of course it does!" Reid laughs. "With that money, we can turn this place into a creepy castle so that all the future kiddies of Oakdale will tell ghost stories about us on Halloween."

"You're really planning on staying in Oakdale that long, huh?"

Reid shrugs, and pulls Luke back down to the bed. "This place won't be so bad if I rule it." He leans in to kiss Luke, but Luke pulls away.

"I thought you didn't care about my money."

"I don't," Reid says. "I just _really_ want a castle." Luke relents, kissing Reid long and deep. Reid rolls on top of Luke, mouths still fused together, and presses his hips down against Luke's waist.

"No, not yet," Luke says, slapping him away. "You can fuck me in a half-hour. I'm hungry."

"We got a new delivery from the hospital," Reid says. He pulls the sheet back as Luke slips out of the bed, slowly and deliberately stroking himself, not breaking eye contact with Luke. Luke bites his lip, and Reid drops his voice a few notes, and he sees Luke shudder. "What are you going to have?"

"I think I'm gonna eat Casey."

Reid's sexy voice disappears as a laugh tears through him. "You just wanted to say you were eating Casey, didn't you?"

"It freaks him the fuck out," Luke says, and dashes out of the room.

"If I come before you get back, it's your own fault!" Reid calls after him.

=====

"Okay, this isn't right," Casey says, dragging Luke over to Reid and Katie's table at Metro.

"Casey," Katie says, rolling her eyes in a distinctly Reid-like manner, "we're trying to have a conversation."

"You're contributing to the furtherance of their apartness!" Casey yells.

"Casey thinks we're fighting," Luke says to Reid.

"You're not doing your creepy vampire sucking thing," Casey says. "You _always_ do your creepy vampire sucking thing!"

"Do you _want_ us to do the creepy vampire sucking thing?" Reid asks.

"What? No...I-"

"Casey, sit down. Your wife looks embarrassed for you," Reid says, nodding his head over to Alison, whose cheeks are glowing red.

Luke leans over Reid's shoulder. "I'll suck you when you've finished. Just for Casey." He kisses Reid's temple and slips away.

" _Luke!_ " Casey moans, following after him.

"I worry about him," Katie laughs.

"He's Casey," Reid says. "Everyone worries about him. Anyway, how are the wedding plans going? I'll pretend to be interested."

Katie smacks his arm. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Shoot."

"Okay," Katie says, and takes a deep breath. "Simon wants Henry to be his Best Man."

"I would have thought you'd want him as your Maid of Honour," Reid says, lifting his beer to his lips. Katie smacks him again.

"Be nice, or I'm not going to ask you."

"Ask me what?"

"My dad's dead," Katie begins, "and Bob's great, but things are a bit weird there, and..."

"Spit it out, Peretti."

"I want you to give me away," Katie says.

Reid coughs on his drink. "Are you serious?"

"You're old enough to be my grandpa, why not?"

Reid crosses his arms, and raises an eyebrow. "Supposing I say no?"

"Well then, I'll stab you in the temple."

Reid chuckles a little, but it's half-hearted and he can see the sadness behind Katie's eyes. He takes her hand, running a thumb over her knuckles. "You coping with that?"

"I think so," Katie says. "Simon's helping, and the nightmares have stopped."

"Well, at least someone's have," Reid mutters.

"I thought yours went away when Luke killed Angus!" Katie gasps.

"They came back," Reid says. "Listen, this is what I want to talk to you about. I'm going away."

" _What?_ "

"Okay, don't have an aneurysm," Reid says. "I'll be back before the wedding. We're gonna get crazy busy soon, so these next few weeks are the only time we have."

"Time for what?" Katie asks.

"Okay, we thought Angus dying would be the closure I needed, and the nightmares would stop, right?" Reid says. "Wrong. But Luke has some idea about what we _can_ do, something to do with some recurring wind motif, so we're gonna go and try to end this."

"Where are you going?"

"I can't say," Reid says, "but I promise I'll be back to walk you down the aisle."

"This is just so you don't have to help me with the arrangements, isn't it?" Katie asks, a cynical eyebrow raised.

"Damn straight."

=====

The wind whips at Reid's jacket and he pulls it tighter around himself. He squints as the sun makes a rare appearance from behind the clouds, and starts chuckling to himself. Squinting reminds him of Noah, who'd texted them as they headed to the airport, inviting him and Luke over to LA to meet his new boyfriend, provided they didn't try to eat him. Reid was confused at first, but soon found out that Luke had been skyping Noah from his office, trying to work things out. It still didn't stop Reid making jokes at Noah's expense.

"We've been out here for hours," Luke hisses. "I'm freezing."

"You should have worn something warmer," Reid says. "Vampires get cold too."

"I didn't think I'd ever be _this_ cold," Luke moans.

"Luke, we're in the Scottish highlands," Reid laughs. "Man up."

"Whatever, I can't feel my toes," Luke says. "Does anything look familiar."

"I don't know," Reid says. "It's been decades, and it does all look similar."

"Reid, you have a photographic memory," Luke says. "Is this the right place or what?"

Reid points ahead, at an almost identical patch of grass. "Over there."

"I don't see anything," Luke says, but Reid is already running, Luke following behind. The sun hurts his eyes but he still hurtles through the grass, the noise of his feet thudding against the ground blocked out by the bitter wind, and soon he is dropping to his knees. The ground seems to vibrate beneath him. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest, still slow, but faster and harder than it has in around a decade. His hands skim over the grass. This is the place.

Luke catches up with him and looks down at Reid, confused. "I don't see anything."

"I feel it," Reid says.

"There's nothing here," Luke insists, walking past him. He trips over something, slamming to the ground, and Reid dives over to grab what he stumbled on.

"Yeah, thanks for your sympathy," Luke grumbles. "What is it, a rock?"

Reid swallows. "It's a tombstone."

Luke scrambles to his feet and heads back over to Reid. He drops down to his knees, hugging Reid from behind and resting his head on Reid's shoulder. "Wow," he whispers.

Reid nods. "I'm gonna look." He pushes back the blades of overgrown grass, and there, on a dirty, forgotten grey stone, are the words.

"Huh," Reid says. "So that's my name."

They stare at it for a long time, unmoving and silent in the wind. Eventually, he feels Luke shift behind him. Luke kisses the shell of his ear.

"I prefer Reid," he says, and backs off.

"Me too," Reid says.

Luke lies back against the tombstone, pulling Reid with him.

"So, do you think that's it?" Luke asks.

"We've killed Angus, we've visited my hometown, which, by the way, never used to look like that," Reid says. "And we've done this. There can't be anything else."

"So either this is the end, or the nightmares will never stop," Luke muses. Reid nods. "So what do you want to do now?" Luke says with a smile. "There's the festival in Edinburgh."

"No," Reid says. "We should get back. I need to make sure Katie hasn't killed Simon, and there's the neuro wing, and Casey will be missing you..."

"-And you miss Oakdale," Luke interrupts.

"A little bit," Reid says. "Tell anyone and I'll never have sex with you again."

Luke laughs. "I'll just enthrall some hot, young Scottish thing."

"Think about your words," Reid says.

"We should get to the airport then," Luke says, but Reid just pulls him closer.

"Not yet," Reid says. He closes his eyes against the sun, and feels Luke curl into his favourite position in his side, eyelashes brushing against Reid's scars. "This guy hasn't had any visitors in so long. He'll appreciate the company."

They lie there for another few hours, Luke telling the grave overexaggerated embarrassing stories of his life with Reid, and Reid apologising to the grave afterwards. They have sex there, Luke riding Reid, Reid's hands clutching at clumps of soil and grass as he cries out in ecstacy. His fingernails are clogged with dirt, but the memory of the rotting wooden box doesn't return. When he comes, Luke falls asleep for a while, draped on top of Reid, and Reid spends the time apologising to the dead man for his poor, wasted life.

"But I'm glad you died," Reid says. "I'm glad you had your life stolen from you, and I'm glad for all the terror you felt."

Luke shifts in his arms.

"I wouldn't have been alive for this otherwise."

"You sap," Luke mutters.

"What's said in Scotland, stays in Scotland," Reid says.

"Whatever," Luke teases. "You're still a sap." Luke gets to his feet. "It's getting late, we should go."

Luke pulls Reid to his feet and kisses him once, quick and light, but still with more than enough pressure to have Reid's lips tingling. Then Luke takes off, running away across the grass, and Reid can't help but anticipate the moment he'll stumble over something again. He sets off after him, grinning, and never glancing back at the dead man he once knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIN.


End file.
